
Class _^^ 

Book 

CopyiightN^. 



COKORIGHT DEPOSrr. 




Church of the Resurrection, erected in honor of Alex- 
ander II, "the Liberator," 17th century Russian style. Mas- 
sive granite walls, surmounted by nine domes resplendent 
with mosaic and green, gold and white enamel. 



RUSSIA IN THE 
SUMMER OF 1914 

WITH DISCUSSION OF 
HER PRESSING PROBLEMS 

BY 

JARED W. SCUDDER 

ILLI7STRATED 




BOSTON 

RICHARD G. BADGER 

THE GORHAM PRESS 



COPXUGBT, 1920, BY RiCHASD G, BADGES 



All Rights Reserved 




9. 



^UCj 



,^3^ 



JAN 19 1920 



Made in the United States of America 



The Gorham Piess, Boston, U. S. A 



A56i519 



AA^O 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Finland 9 

II. Arrival at St. Petersburg ... 18 

III. Peter the Great 25 

IV. Peter the Great {continued) . . 34 
V. Peter the Great {concluded) . . 43 

VI. Memorials of Peter the Great — 

Peterhof 54 

VII. Peter's Last Resting Place — ^The 

Winter Palace 65 

VIII. Catherine the Great 72 

IX. The Hermitage — Russian Art . . 85 

X. Alexander II 91 

XI. Cathedral Services 97 

XII. General Impressions of St. Peters- 
burg 108 

XIII. Moscow — The Kremlin .... 119 

XIV. Moscow {concluded) 131 

XV. Impressions of Moscow .... 141 

XVI. The Russian Peasant 148 

XVII. Riots IN Moscow and St. Petersburg 157 

XVIII. Efforts to Escape from St. Peters- 
burg 166 

XIX. Flight from St. Petersburg . . 176 

XX. The Revolution — Future of Russia 181 

Index 187 
5 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



FACING 
FAG£ 



Church of the Resurrection . Frontispiece 

Peter the Great 54 

Peterhof 60 

Catherine the Great 74 

The Hermitage 84 

Church of the Resurrection {Interior) . . 94 

St. Isaac's Cathedral 102 

The Droschky .116 

The Moscow Kremlin 122 

The Ivan Bell Tower 126 

The Red Square 132 

The Novo Dyevitchi Convent 138 

The Church of the Redeemer 140 

Moscow 142 

A Russian Village 150 

Bearded Muzhiks 154 



RUSSIA IN THE SUMMER 

OF 1914 



CHAPTER I 

FINLAND 

IT was with curiously mingled feelings of ap- 
prehension and pleasure that we left Stock- 
holm on the 2 1 St of July, 19 14, en route to Russia. 

In Denmark, Norway, and Sweden we had felt 
as unconstrained in speech and action as if we 
had been at home. But the mere mention of Rus- 
sia was enough to make one recall all sorts of 
exciting tales of government espionage, of wild- 
eyed anarchists and brutal Cossacks, of deporta- 
tions to Siberia, and thrilling escapes through 
guards, bears, and wolves to the more hospitable 
shores of the Black Sea. 

And yet, linked with this rather fascinating 
feeling of dread there was keen pleasure in the 
assurance that at last our oft-deferred visit to Rus- 
sia was to become a certainty. If we had had 
the vaguest premonition of the startling experi- 

9 



10 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

ences that were In store for us during this fateful 
summer of 19 14 — but I am anticipating. 

Meanwhile our small steamer, the von Dobeln, 
bore us swiftly eastward between high wooded 
banks crowned with princely villas, and by night- 
fall she was threading a tortuous course in and 
out among the islands of the Baltic Sea, well on 
her way toward Russia, the goal of our dreams 
for many a year. 

Eight o'clock next morning found us on deck, 
where we were treated to biscuits and a cup of 
coffee as a preliminary to breakfast. This im- 
portant meal, we were told, was served at about 
eleven, but it was long past that hour by our 
watches before a gong announced to the half- 
famished passengers that it was ready. The din- 
ing-room was far forward on the upper deck. 
Down both sides of it ran a series of small tables, 
at which the expectant guests speedily seated 
themselves. The center of the room was occu- 
pied by a long counter, laden with food of every 
description. By actual count, there were twenty- 
nine different varieties of hot and cold meats, 
besides soup, vegetables, pickles, etc. As soon 
as the seats were filled, the guests rose en masse, 
hurried to the counter, foraged for whatever they 
fancied most, and then returned to the side tables 
with heaping plates to enjoy their booty at leisure. 
There were some individuals of the male sex — 



Finland 1 1 

blessed with a good digestion, let us hope — who 
made two and even three pilgrimages for more 
provender at the counter. All this, however, 
proved to be merely an appetizer, for it was fol- 
lowed by the "regular" breakfast, consisting of 
fish and meat courses with coffee, served at the 
side tables. The food was not only abundant, it 
was well cooked and some of us quite enjoyed 
the novelty of the "grab-counter" breakfast. 

This system of serving meals Is similar to that 
which prevails at the railroad restaurants in 
Sweden, the only difference between them being 
that on entering the latter one pays a fixed sum 
for the meal and waits upon himself throughout. 
When time Is limited, as it often is, there is apt 
to be considerable elbowing and confusion, and 
the novice sometimes fails to get the worth of 
his money. On one occasion, as I was returning 
to the train after dining at a Swedish railroad 
restaurant, I noticed a fellow traveler who had 
"disgust" written in large lines on his counte- 
nance. He was savagely munching a roll and 
kept muttering and ejaculating to himself. 

"Did you enjoy your dinner?" I asked. 

"Dinner I Dinner! ! You call that dinner! ! !" 

"Why, we certainly had plenty to eat there." 

"Well, I didn't get much of it." 

"What was the trouble?" asked I soothingly. 

"Trouble! Trouble enough! I got my plate 



12 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

filled and went to a side table, but there was noth- 
ing to eat it with. So I left the plate and went 
back for a knife and fork, and when I came back 
the plate was gone I" 

"Well, that was too bad ! Why didn't you try 
again?" 

"I did. But when I got some meat on my plate 
and had my back turned, looking for some vege- 
tables, somebody whisked my plate away. And 
then the bell rang! I tell you, these people are 
perfect pigs. I have no use for them." 

And with that he fell to munching his roll again 
and relapsed into gloomy silence. 

Late in the afternoon we passed the island of 
Sveaborg, famous for the valiant defence its Rus- 
sian garrison made when attacked in 1855 ^7 
the English and French fleets combined. One 
thousand tons of shot and shell were hurled by 
the English fleet alone upon the island, but the 
fortress was impregnable and the allied fleets 
were forced to withdraw without accomplishing 
their purpose. 

Thirty minutes later we were docked at Hel- 
singfors, the capital of Finland. A stop of four 
hours gave us time to see something of this inter- 
esting city. 

We were surprised, first at its evident pros- 
perity and size — it numbers 150,000 inhabitants 
— and second at its general appearance, which to 



Finland 13 

our mind was distinctly Swedish, whereas we had 
supposed it would be Russian. Baedeker's re- 
mark that in some respects it suggests America 
rather than Europe must be set down to a slight 
unfamillarity with American cities. Our cher- 
ished hope that here we should see typical Finns 
with "somewhat angular brachycephalic skulls, 
flat faces and prominent cheek bones" was not 
realized. However, the architecture of the gov- 
ernment buildings and of many business houses, 
the monuments and statues, the strange coinage, 
and still stranger speech of the people, stamped 
the city with an individuality all its own. 

The Finns, once supposed to be of Mongolian 
origin, but now more generally believed to be 
Caucasians, invaded this land in prehistoric times 
and drove the Lapps before them to the north. 
In the 1 2th century they were conquered by 
Sweden and converted first to the Roman Cath- 
olic and later to the Lutheran faith. They suf- 
fered greatly in repeated wars between Sweden 
and Russia. Finally in 1809, after a war dis- 
astrous to the former, Finland was ceded to Rus- 
sia. She did not, however, lose autonomy. For 
when the Tsar, Alexander I, assumed the title 
of Grand Duke of Finland, he made the follow- 
ing pledge: "Providence having placed us in 
possession of the Grand Duchy of Finland, we 
have desired by the present act to confirm and 



14 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

ratify the religion and fundamental laws of the 
land, as well as the privileges and rights, which 
each class of the said Grand Duchy in particular, 
and all the inhabitants in general, be their posi- 
tion high or low, have hitherto enjoyed according 
to the constitution. We promise to maintain all 
these benefits and laws, firm and unshaken, in 
their full force." 

This solemn pact was kept by Alexander I, 
and the monument erected to Alexander II, which 
still stands in the public square of Helsingfors, 
gives proof that he, too, respected the rights of 
the people. Under their successors, however, an 
ominous change took place. The movement to 
constrain all parts of the vast empire to adopt 
"one law, one church, one language" slowly 
gained strength. With the accession of Nicholas 
II the situation became acute. In 1901 Russian 
officials and the Russian language were forced 
on the Finns wherever possible. Two years later 
General Bobrikov was stationed in Helsingfors 
with the powers of a dictator. The country was 
flooded with spies. The houses of the people 
were forcibly entered and searched. There were 
numerous illegal arrests and banishments. The 
newspapers were suppressed. The name of the 
General became a byword and a hissing. 

The undaunted Finns resisted these unjust 
measures with dogged resolution, and in 1905, 



Finland 15 

taking advantage of the Outbreak of the war with 
Japan, they went on a general strike which event- 
ually compelled the Russian government to yield 
and to restore to them their ancient rights. After 
the war, however, renewed attempts were made to 
Russify Finland and the friction became intense. 

It made one's blood boil to hear a recital of 
these facts and to see with one's own eyes the evi- 
dences that a despotic government was bullying a 
helpless people, vastly superior to their oppressors 
In education and morals. Not that there is any 
fault to be found with the principle of Russiiica- 
tion in the abstract. For it is nothing more than 
a desire to nationalize the entire empire. It is 
precisely what we endeavor to do with foreign 
immigrants in the United States. Note, however, 
the vast difference in point both of condition and 
method. With us the immigrants come volun- 
tarily and the process of making them citizens is 
largely educational. This is the civilized method. 
On the other hand, Finland became a part of the 
Russian empire as a result of the exigencies of 
war, but with a distinct understanding that its con- 
stitutional rights would be maintained. These 
rights have been trampled In the dust and force 
has been applied to nationalize the province. This 
is rank barbarism I 

The government offices in Helslngfors are in 
the Senate House, which together with the City 



1 6 Russia in the Summer of 1914 

Hall, the University and the Lutheran Church 
constitute a group of Imposing buildings around 
Senate Square. In the center of the Square is 
Runeberg^s bronze statue of Alexander II, to 
which allusion has been made. Not far to the 
right — on a rocky peninsula jutting out Into the 
harbor — rises the huge Russian Cathedral with 
gilded domes. But by far the most interesting 
architecture we came across in Helsingfors was 
found in certain buildings recently erected for 
business purposes, in which the material used was 
red Finnish granite streaked with gray. The ex- 
terior of one of these, a bank, was as solid and 
severe as an Egyptian pylon, the entrance being 
through a peculiarly shaped Finnish archway. 
The interior was low, its celling supported by fat 
pillars with massive capitals, the wall decoration 
a running hieroglyphic. Another typical building 
contained the offices of a large insurance company. 
The lower structure, made more open than the 
bank by the Insertion of a series of Finnish arches, 
supported four stories amply provided with win- 
dow space. The exterior decoration was unique. 
For the stone was appropriately carved, not in 
conventional forms, but in figures of gigantic trolls 
and fantastic gnomes, such as peopled this land in 
ages long gone by. The architects deserve to be 
commended for erecting buildings that are thor- 



Finland 17 

oughly practical and at the same time distinctively 
national, — a rare combination in these days I 

Our driver in Helsingfors took us all over the 
city, through the park, past the governor-generars 
residence (which he seemed reluctant to point out 
and only spoke of with bated breath), and finally 
left us by request at the head of the Esplanade. 
This is a short but spacious avenue running toward 
the harbor, marked off by rows of trees, not thin 
and scraggly like those on the pretentious "Unter 
den Linden", but vigorous fuU-foliaged trees, — 
while its center is adorned with beds of brilliant 
flowers. Here were scores of people promenad- 
ing as they listened to the music of the bands play- 
ing in several near-by restaurants. At one of 
these, known as the Kapellet, we enjoyed an ex- 
cellent dinner and then returned to the steamer, 
well pleased with our visit to Helsingfors. It 
struck half-past ten before we started, and yet 
twilight was lingering in the west. The sea was 
still, and as we drew away from the shore, the 
harbor lights, casting long glittering lines of danc- 
ing reflections on the water beneath them, slowly 
converged into the form of a perfect horseshoe, — 
an omen which the Delphic priestess in our party 
sagely interpreted as an assurance of **great good 
luck" for our journey through Russia. 



CHAPTER II 

ARRIVAL AT ST. PETERSBURG 

TOWARDS noon of the following day we 
were nearing Kronstadt. Russian men-of- 
war, cruisers, and destroyers appeared in every 
direction. Among these there were two men-of- 
war which were pointed out to us as especially 
worthy of attention. Upon one of them the Tsar 
of all the Russias was present that day; the other, 
flying the French flag, had on board President 
Poincare, who had come to interview the Tsar 
on an exceedingly delicate diplomatic mission. 

The island on which Kronstadt is situated has 
been converted into an impregnable fortress — a 
veritable Heligoland — for the protection of St. 
Petersburg. From the water the city itself looked 
like a gigantic fort, its massive walls pierced at 
regular intervals with openings for cannon, 
pointed seaward. It was an impressive sight, and 
being long since aware of the omnipresence of 
several Russian army oflicers on board, we deemed 
it the better part of valor to conceal our cameras 
or at any rate to use them very surreptitiously. 
After a stop of a short half hour we went on 

i8 



Arrival at St. Petersburg 19 

our way and soon entered the Sea Canal, which 
extends from this point to the mouth of the river 
Neva, a distance of seventeen miles. It was lined 
on both sides with grain elevators, warehouses, 
and great numbers of dry docks containing ships 
in every phase of construction. Through this 
canal we had steamed for more than an hour, 
when suddenly far ahead our eager eyes caught 
the gleam of gold, and presently out of the 
kaleidoscopic view of many-colored roofs there 
loomed up before us the magnificent gilded dome 
of St. Isaac's Cathedral and the two slender 
golden spires of the Admiralty Tower and the 
Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul. It was St. 
Petersburg! 

A tedious delay for the inspection of our pass- 
ports was followed by an unexpectedly lenient 
custom-house examination, and then at last we 
were free to proceed to a hotel. Our preference 
was for the Astoria, partly because it fronted on 
a large square near St. Isaac's Cathedral, but also 
because it was a brand new hotel, recently opened 
under German management, which had been 
highly recommended to us by friends who had 
been there the year before. The hotel omnibus, 
which was in waiting, quickly conveyed us oyer the 
bridge across the Neva and set us down before 
the Astoria. 

Hardly had I entered the room assigned to me 



20 Russia in the Summer of 1914 

before there was a knock at the door, and a boy, 
picturesquely dressed in Tartar costume, pre- 
sented me with a blank to be filled out with vari- 
ous details as to my age, family, nationality, pro- 
fession, probable length of stay in Russia, etc., etc. 
I wrote out the required information and handed 
it back with the inevitable pourboire. But the boy 
still lingered, persistently — ^though politely — ^ut- 
tering a single word. For a time I was non- 
plussed. At last it dawned upon me. Did he 
want my passport? "Da I Da !" "Yes, yes,** that 
was it. I hesitated about parting with that val- 
uable document and put it into his hands very 
reluctantly. Later I learned that in Russia all 
passports must be turned over to the hotel Portier, 
who has them inspected by the police, and then 
keeps them in his possession until the guests are 
on the point of leaving the city. This was the 
first intimation that we were under strict surveil- 
lance by the Russian authorities. 

The passport episode reminded me that we had 
been strongly advised to secure a reliable guide 
as soon as we reached St. Petersburg. In the 
more travelled parts of Europe a Baedeker or a 
Murray, supplemented with a little knowledge of 
French or German, enables one to get about satis- 
factorily, and it is much more interesting to be 
thrown on one's own resources. Not so in Rus- 
sia. Ignorance of the language and urifamiliarity 



Arrival at St. Petersburg 21 

with the customs would Inevitably result in being 
fleeced by droschky drivers and palace guards. 
Without a guide entree to many of the most val- 
uable collections might be refused on some flimsy 
pretext or other. More than that, mutual mis- 
understandings might give rise, not only to exas- 
perating delays, but sometimes to actual detention 
and the humiliating necessity of appealing to a 
consul for release. 

With these admonitions In mind I asked for a 
guide at the hotel office, but found that none was 
available — "they were already engaged." In- 
quiry at several other hotels proved equally dls^- 
appointing. At last at the Hotel de France I hap- 
pened on a man who spoke English tolerably well 
and had good credentials. His name plainly indi- 
cated that he was of English extraction, and when 
I — perhaps too curiously — asked how it hap- 
pened that his father preferred Russia to Eng- 
land, he sententiously remarked, "Ubi bene, ibi 
patrla." I engaged him on the spot. 

The search for a guide consumed considerable 
time and I had no sooner returned to the hotel 
than dinner was announced. The cuisine at the 
Astoria differed little from that of any first class 
hotel In Western Europe. We were warned not 
to drink the city water, because it was pumped 
unfiltered from the river Neva without any at- 
tempt being made to secure that stream from 



22 Russia in the Summer of Jgi4 

pollution. This is only one instance out of many 
which go to show that the Russians are still quite 
heedless of the most ordinary sanitary precau- 
tions. Rest assured, however, gentle reader, that 
there is not the slightest difficulty in obtaining in- 
numerable substitutes for city water in the form 
of wines and beers, bottled waters, tea and kvass, 
for which, of course, one has to pay extra. 

Kvass, a genuine Russian drink, became a prime 
favorite with us, because it is non-alcoholic, re- 
freshing and inexpensive. It is made, so we were 
told, from barley, as its chief ingredient, with an 
admixture of honey, salt and hot water. This is 
boiled for twelve hours, strained, and then left to 
ferment for about a week. In our humble opinion 
it tastes like lemonade mixed with raspberry juice, 
but we frankly admit that this analysis is open to 
debate, no two epicures ever having been known 
to agree on the ingredients of kvass. 

Well-to-do Russians, we found, are accustomed 
to partake of an elaborate appetizer before all 
heavy meals. This is usually done in a room ad- 
joining the main dining salon, where liqueurs, 
sandwiches, caviar, herring, — hors-d'oeuvres of 
every description — are set forth on a counter in 
the most tempting fashion. The caviar is notably 
fresh and delicious, as compared with what is ob- 
tainable in the United States. 

After dinner we proceeded to the reading-room 



Arrival at St, Petersburg 23 

and consulted the newspapers which we had not 
seen since leaving Stockholm. Among these was 
a St. Petersburg daily published in German, 
which contained several items decidedly interest- 
ing to ourselves. 

In the first place, as a result of the assassination 
of Archduke Ferdinand, the relations between 
Austria and Serbia were said to be strained al- 
most to the breaking point. If war were to be 
declared between these two nations, our itinerary, 
carrying us by way of Moscow and Warsaw to 
Vienna and Budapest, would have to be entirely 
revised. 

But our more immediate attention was claimed 
by the news concerning Russia. Evidences of ex- 
treme unrest among the people were multiplying 
on every side. That it was not sporadic was clear 
from simultaneous outbreaks of mob violence in 
all the larger cities. Even now in St. Petersburg 
there was a serious strike involving many hun- 
dreds of workmen in various large industries. 
There was no cause for alarm, however, as the 
government had the situation well in hand. 

This was not altogether comfortable reading. 
Newspapers in Russia — as in every land — were 
probably inclined to startle the public with lurid 
rumors emanating from the heated imagination of 
ambitious reporters. But that we were a little 



24 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

disturbed that evening by the trend of events goes 
without saying. 

The news next morning (July 24th) was hardly 
less disconcerting. The Austro-Hungarian gov- 
ernment had presented an ultimatum to Serbia, 
demanding its unqualified acceptance within forty- 
eight hours. Notwithstanding all the concessions 
made by Serbia, Austria backed by Germany 
seemed bent on war. 

Well, there was nothing for us to do but to 
hope that this war cloud, like so many others in 
previous years, might be dissipated, or that, if 
there were no escape from war, it might at least 
be confined to the two countries immediately con- 
cerned. We decided to await further develop- 
ments, and in the meantime to see all that we 
could of the great metropolis of Russia. 



CHAPTER III 

PETER THE GREAT 

THE history of St. Petersburg is so closely 
interwoven with the life of Peter the Great 
that a brief sketch of his career is indispensable 
to even a slight acquaintance with the city as well 
as to an intelligent conception of present condi- 
tions in the empire. Let us go back for a mo- 
ment to the beginnings of Russia. 

The Slavs in goodly numbers were settled in 
Europe as early as the 4th century of the Chris- 
tian Era. They then occupied considerable terri- 
tory near the Carpathian Mountains. Following 
the movement of successive migrations the North- 
ern Slavs spread toward the northwest, drove the 
Finns before them, and took possession of the 
plains stretching to the Baltic. They were a 
hardy but peaceful people, given to agriculture 
rather than to war. In the 9th century they grew 
weary of the never-ending turmoil of their tribes, 
and — so says tradition — invited a Norse chieftain 
to become their king. 

"Our land is great and fruitful," they said, "but 

25 



26 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

there is no order In it; come and reign and rule 



over us.'* 



This is interpreted by some historians as indi- 
cating that the Norsemen (whom the Slavs called 
RuSf whence the name Russian is derived) in- 
vaded the land and conquered the Slavs, just as 
they did with the Saxons before the time of Alfred 
the Great. At any rate, Rurik, a Norseman, be- 
came sole ruler of the Slavs and established a 
dynasty which occupied the throne for some seven 
hundred years. 

About the middle of the loth century Chris- 
tianity obtained a footing in the land, and in an 
incredibly short time the Greek Church was 
adopted as the State religion. 

During the next three centuries, in spite of in- 
numerable civil wars, the kingdom was enlarged 
and considerable progress was made in civiliza- 
tion. Indeed, if Russia had been allowed the 
same opportunities that were granted to the other 
countries of Europe, she would now be as far 
advanced as any of them. 

But an appalling catastrophe overtook her in 
the 13th century. A horde of Mongols or Tar- 
tars under the leadership of Genghis Khan swept 
over the country, ravaging the fields, pillaging 
the towns and slaughtering the inhabitants with 
indescribable fury. A second invasion ten years 
later left the Russians completely crushed. For- 



Peter the Great 27 

tunately the Tartar conquerors had no desire to 
settle in the country and contented themselves 
with the exaction of tribute. For nearly three 
centuries, however, Russia was terrorized by the 
constant incursions _of Tartar armies. The evil 
effects of this disastrous setback to civilization are 
felt in Russia to this day. 

At length the Mongol power began to wane, 
and in 1478 Ivan the Great, Prince of Moscow, 
utterly defeated the Golden Horde in the south 
and freed the land from Tartar dominion. Dur- 
ing the reign of Ivan the Terrible (1533-1584) 
the empire was extended to the Ural Mountains 
and a portion of Siberia was seized by the Cos- 
sacks. From that time pioneers trekked on east- 
ward, driving Turks and Tartars before them, 
until the whole of Siberia was occupied by Rus- 
sians. 

The line of Rurik ended with the death of 
Feodor I in 1598. Then came an interregnum of 
fifteen years filled with the conspiracies of the 
False Pretenders, whose claims were supported 
by the Poles. Finally, in 16 13, Michael Feodoro- 
witch was elected Tsar by the boyars, as the noble- 
men were called, and with him began the dynasty 
of the Romanoffs. 

His successor, Alexis I, by his first wife had 
thirteen children, of whom seven died in child- 
hood, leaving two sons, Feodor and Ivan, and 



28 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

four daughters, the eldest being named Sophia. 
For his second wife Alexis married Natalia Na- 
ryshkin, a tall, handsome brunette of Tartar de- 
scent, by whom he had a son Peter and a daughter 
Natalia. 

On the death of Alexis in 1676 Feodor 
ascended the throne. As he was only fourteen 
years old and in delicate health, the government 
was administered by his counselors. His brother 
Ivan was feeble-minded, but his sister Sophia was 
able, accomplished and ambitious. Shrewdly 
playing her part, the latter gained an ascendancy 
over Feodor and became a favorite with many of 
the boyars. More than that, she ingratiated her- 
self with the National Guard, the Streltsi, who at 
this time occupied much the same position at the 
court as did the Pretorian Guard in the Roman 
Empire. Meanwhile Peter, who was four years 
old when his father died, lived with his mother 
at the Villa Preobrazhenskoye, two miles outside 
of Moscow. Unlike his half brothers he was a 
sturdy boy, who soon showed that he possessed 
a mind as alert and vigorous as his body. 

After a reign of six years Feodor died, and in 
spite of Ivan's right to succeed him, Peter was 
proclaimed Tsar on the loth of May, 1682. 
This, however, was not at all to the liking of 
Sophia and her supporters. A rumor was spread 
that Ivan had been murdered. On the 25th of 
May the Streltsi, twenty thousand strong, 



Peter the Great 29 

marched Into the Kremlin, surrounded the palace, 
and standing before the Red Staircase, demanded 
that the murderer of Ivan be handed over to them. 
Protestations that Ivan was still alive were of no 
avail. At length Natalia herself, trembling with 
fear, appeared on the staircase with both Peter 
and Ivan. Even this did not appease the Streltsi. 
For three days the drunken soldiers hunted, 
knouted, tortured and slew whomsoever they 
could find of the Naryshkin party, while Natalia 
and Peter hid In different rooms of the palace, 
expecting every instant to be dragged forth and 
slain. The rioting then ceased. 

Three days later the Streltsi demanded that 
Ivan and Peter should be proclaimed joint Tsars, 
threatening an immediate attack upon the Krem- 
lin if their request was denied. The boyars 
yielded and announced that the princes should 
rule with equal authority. 

Finally on the 5th of June the Streltsi petitioned 
that in view of the evident inexperience of the 
young Tsars the princess Sophia be named as Re- 
gent. Thereupon Sophia was humbly begged to 
take the reins of government In her hands. The 
responsibility was indeed great and she hesitated, 
but at last — though of course very reluctantly — 
she consented I Sophia had now attained her Im- 
mediate ambition. During the next seven years 
she ruled the state as Regent and displayed com- 



30 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

mendable firmness and ability in her conduct of 
the government. 

After the coronation of the Tsars had taken 
place, in July, 1682, Peter returned to the Villa 
Preobrazhenskoye. Here he was put under the 
instruction of private tutors, whose vigilance he 
generally succeeded in eluding with marked 
adroitness. Like any healthy, normal boy he pre- 
ferred to be out-of-doors rather than studying. 
His curiosity was insatiable. One day as he was 
strolling about in company with a Dutch merchant 
named Timmermann, he discovered rotting in a 
barn an old English boat, which his friend told 
him could be sailed against the wind. It did not 
take Peter long to have it put in shape and 
launched on the neighboring river. Here he re- 
ceived his first lessons in navigation. Finding 
this stream too narrow for good sailing, he went 
with several Dutch ship-carpenters to the shore of 
Lake Pleshtcheyevo, and started building two 
boats. These were finished in the following 
spring. Thus began Peter's passion for sailing 
and shipbuilding. 

But military exercises also claimed a large share 
of Peter's attention. Nor did he stop with ''play- 
ing soldier." He recruited two good sized regi- 
ments, equipped his troops with uniforms, guns, 
drums and fifes (he himself served as drum 
major), planned and carried out elaborate cam- 



Peter the Great 31 

paigns, and built a fort from which salutes were 
fired with real cannon. 

He was always greatly interested in trades that 
required manual dexterity. Never content with 
being an onlooker, he was eager to practice them 
with his own hands. He is said to have become 
an expert in fourteen trades, — a trades-union all 
by himself I Allowing a trifle for exaggeration, 
there is no doubt that he showed great aptitude 
in the use of tools, especially in the line of car- 
pentry, turning, and iron-work. 

As regards the chosen comrades of his boy- 
hood, Peter — to say the least — was remarkably 
democratic. In his pursuit of the handicrafts he 
was naturally thrown in with many workmen and 
artizans. That, however, does not account for 
his deliberate choice of the grooms and cooks on 
his estates to be his boon companions. In good 
fellowship with men of this stamp he became 
coarse and unmannerly and — ^worst of all — he ac- 
quired the unfortunate habit of drinking to ex- 
cess. 

Six years went by in this busy — at times wild — 
sort of existence, during which Peter had grown 
into a splendid specimen of young manhood. He 
was extraordinarily tall — six feet eight and a half 
inches high — and possessed a powerful frame. 
His features were regular, he had keen, dark eyes, 
and a singularly strong and attractive countenance. 



32 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

He was self-willed and had a violent temper. 
When he flew into a passion, his head would jerk 
convulsively to one side and his face would be- 
come dreadfully distorted. 

Monarchs must marry early. Peter had 
reached the ripe age of seventeen when the de- 
cree went forth that he should wed. In February, 
1689, he married Eudoxia Lapouhin, the daugh- 
ter of a distinguished boyar. She was three years 
his senior, a pretty, inoffensive, simple-minded 
creature, for whom her husband never entertained 
any sincere affection. 

In the meantime serious trouble was brewing 
for the Regent. The Naryshklns, who had been 
so disastrously overthrown by her scheming in 
1682, had now recovered strength and were await- 
ing an opportunity for a coup d' etat. It came In 
the summer of 1689. An unfortunate military 
campaign and Peter's growing popularity encour- 
aged them to set the stage for the last act of the 
Sophlan drama. 

On the 17th of August at midnight Peter was 
rudely awakened from his slumbers In the Villa 
Preobrazhenskoye, and Informed that a band of 
murderous hirelings were already on their way 
from Moscow with Intent to kill him. Peter did 
not stop to question the facts, but fled In haste — 
arrayed only In his nightshirt — and after a long 
and perilous ride found refuge within the sacred 



Peter the Great 33 

precincts of the Troltzkaya Monastery. Thither 
Sophia sent conciliatory messages, but in vain. 
She essayed to go personally, but was stopped on 
the journey. Her eloquent appeals to the Streltsi 
were equally unavailing. The last scene was her 
retirement in the garb of a nun to the Novo 
Dyevitchi Convent on the outskirts of Moscow. 
The curtain was rung down. Sophia, subse- 
quently known as the nun Susanna, remained in 
her cell till the day of her death, fifteen years 
afterwards. 



CHAPTER IV 
PETER THE GREAT (continued) 

THE following six years form a transition 
period in Peter's life. Relegating govern- 
mental responsibilities to his counselors, he re- 
turned to his boyish amusements, to fireworks and 
choir singing, to sham battles on land, to ship- 
building and sailing. When his fleet outgrew the 
confines of the lake he transferred his activities 
to Archangel and the White Sea. 

It was early in this period that he met Lefort, 
a most accomplished and attractive foreigner, by 
birth a Genevan, whose brilliancy, wit and ca- 
pacity for winebibbing made him a congenial com- 
panion for the young Tsar. Lefort's house in 
the foreign suburb became a regular evening re- 
sort for Peter and a select retinue, and the carou- 
sals rarely ceased before daybreak. 

In February, 1694, Natalia died quite sud- 
denly. For a brief time Peter, who loved his 
mother tenderly, was overwhelmed with grief, 
but he soon went back to his sports and merry- 
making. He was now twenty-two years old. 

34 



Peter the Great 35 

Would he never put away childish things and 
become a man? 

War broke out between Russia and the Turks 
in 1695, and Peter entered into it with heart and 
soul. An expedition was dispatched from Mos- 
cow for the purpose of capturing Azov, the key 
to the Black Sea. That city, however, held out 
against all the attacks of the Russian forces. 
Peter returned to his capital thoroughly humil- 
iated and incensed by the utter failure of his first 
military campaign. It was the turning point in 
his career. The self-willed youth was trans- 
formed into a man of iron. The death of his 
brother Ivan now made him sole ruler of Rus^ 
sia, and this too forced him to think of his duty 
and responsibility to his country. Preparations 
for the coming campaign were pushed vigorously 
throughout the winter. A flotilla was built at 
Voronezh on the river Don. In the spring the 
siege was renewed, and on the 17th of July Azov 
was surrendered to the Russians. 

Peter^s first great project was to build a large 
fleet on the Black Sea. Shipwrights were pro- 
cured from Holland, Sweden, Denmark and 
Venice. Fifty young nobles were sent to various 
ports in Europe to acquire the art of navigation. 
Even that did not suflice. Peter determined to go 
abroad himself. A magnificent embassy was soon 
en route to Holland. It was the Tsar's wish to 



36 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

travel incognito, and to be known only as "Myn 
Her Peter Mikhailof." 

In Zaandam Peter dressed as a workman and 
occupied a humble cottage (it is still preserved 
and shown to visitors). Finding that he at- 
tracted altogether too much attention in this little 
village, he went to Amsterdam, and there worked 
for four months as a common laborer under the 
name of "Baas Peter" at the wharves of the East 
India Company. Another four months were 
spent in England. In both countries his leisure 
hours were occupied with endless activities, among 
which were studying navigation, visiting mills, 
factories, museums, and hospitals, learning to 
etch, and taking lessons in dentistry. The last 
named art he insisted on practicing with some- 
what painful results on his companions. 

The next stopping place was Vienna. From 
there he intended to go to Venice, but news of a 
rebellion of the Streltsi called him back post 
haste to Moscow. When he arrived, he found 
the revolt quelled. Naturally Sophia was sus- 
pected of being concerned in the conspiracy. An 
investigation followed under torture of the knout 
and of fire. Nearly one thousand men were put 
to death. One hundred and ninety-five were 
hanged in front of Sophia's cell, and three of the 
bodies dangled before her window all winter long. 
Peter is said not only to have witnessed these ex- 



Peter the Great 37 

ecutions, but to have commanded his courtiers to 
act as headsmen. 

While he was on his tour, Peter commissioned 
two of his friends in Moscow to induce Eudoxia 
to take the veil. On his return he personally re- 
quested her to enter a nunnery. This she abso- 
lutely refused to do. Three weeks later she was 
forcibly conveyed to a convent, where she lived 
twenty-one years. After Peter's death she was 
cruelly whipped and cast into a foul dungeon in 
the fortress of Schliisselburg. The death of her 
persecutor, Peter's second wife, brought her solace 
and return to the court. But she was broken in 
spirit and voluntarily retired to a nunnery for the 
rest of her life. 

Peter's tour bore immediate fruit in the institu- 
tion of several outward reforms: — 

In the first place all courtiers and officials were 
required to shave off their beards. Now the 
orthodox Russian had been taught to regard the 
beard as a God-given appendage. It was there- 
fore a sacrilege to trim or remove it. The de- 
cree went forth, however, that the sacrifice must 
be made or an annual tax be paid. Some paid the 
tax, but most persons felt that it was wiser to 
curry favor with the sovereign and rid themselves 
of their hirsute growth. 

Peter's next attack was aimed at the Russian 
coat. The sleeves which ordinarily extended be- 



38 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

low the fingers must not come below the wrist, 
and the long robe reaching to the ankles must be 
shortened to the knees. Guards were placed at 
the city gates, and long-robed citizens were forced 
to kneel down and have their coats trimmed to 
the proper length. This was amusing to by- 
standers, if not to the victims. 

A third reform was the emancipation of women 
from their cloistered lives. They were invited to 
imitate foreign fashions and to mingle with men 
at social gatherings. Needless to say, they obeyed 
the behest with commendable alacrity. 

Peter's presence at banquets must have tended 
to enliven the proceedings, as he was always on 
the watch to perpetrate some practical joke on 
his neighbors. He was especially insistent on their 
showing a proper appreciation of the foreign deli- 
cacies that were set before them. On one occasion 
Admiral Golovin, who was sitting next to him, 
declined the salad that was being passed and ex- 
cused his apparent rudeness on the ground that 
the vinegar made him sick. Peter immediately 
seized a bottle of vinegar and forced the Admiral, 
choking and gasping, to swallow its contents to 
the last drop. A refusal on the part of any guest 
to indulge in olive oil, cheese, oysters, etc., was 
the signal for a similar forceful feeding. 

As has been stated, Peter's chief object in mak- 
ing his tour was to enable him to build a fleet. 



Peter the Great 39 

Soon after his return, therefore, he proceeded to 
carry out his ambitious project, and by the spring 
of 1697 he was the proud possessor of a navy of 
eighty-six ships. A truce was then arranged with 
Turkey, and Peter was free at last to devote his 
attention to his neighbors on the north. The 
youthfulness of Charles XII, who ascended the 
Swedish throne in 1697 at the age of fifteen, was 
too good an opportunity to miss. Peter entered 
into a coalition against Sweden with Frederick 
IV, King of Denmark, and Augustus, King of 
Poland. War was declared by Russia in 1700. 
But the conspirators reckoned without their host 
in attacking the ''Glorious Madman of the 
North." Swooping down upon Copenhagen in 
August, he forced Frederick to capitulate within 
two weeks. On the 30th of November with 
scarce nine thousand troops Charles met and ut- 
terly routed the Russians — more than forty thou- 
sand strong — at the battle of Narva. He then 
turned his attention to Augustus, but here he en- 
countered many obstacles, and it was not until 
1706 that he succeeded in forcing him to abdicate 
the crown of Poland. 

Meanwhile Peter had not been idle. In 1702 
the Swedish forces were defeated in two battles, 
and several towns were captured, among which 
were Noteborg and Marienburg. The siege of 
Noteborg was conducted with marked ability by 



40 Russia in the Summer of JQ14 

Gen. Menshikof, one of Peter's former boy com- 
rades, and from this time on he became Peter's 
chief confidant, taking the place of Lefort, who 
had died in 1699. 

A seemingly trivial occurrence in the siege of 
Marienburg was destined to play a strange part 
in Peter's career. In the household of Gliick, 
the Lutheran minister in that city, there lived a 
servant girl, named Catherine, who was be- 
trothed to a Swedish guardsman. Just before the 
surrender Pastor Gliick managed to escape from 
the city with his family, but the servant maid was 
detained in the Russian camp and became Menshi- 
kof's mistress. Later at Menshikof's house in 
Moscow Peter saw her, was greatly attracted by 
her, and soon afterwards took her for himself. 
Possessed of a cheerful, happy disposition, Cath- 
erine entered heartily into Peter's rough merry- 
making, and soon became a most congenial com- 
panion. She went with him on his campaigns and 
made light of all the discomfort incident to for- 
eign expeditions. Her good sense and tactfulness 
enabled her to control him in his most violent 
paroxysms. In spite of her illiteracy, these ad- 
mirable traits, combined with her never wavering 
love, made her indispensable to Peter. More 
than that, she secured a hold on his affections that 
endured to the end of his life. 

In 1703 Peter captured a fort at the mouth of 



Peter the Great 41 

the Neva. The idea flashed upon him that here 
was a suitable site for a seaport in northern Rus- 
sia, and forthwith he set about building a city, 
which he named St. Petersburg in honor of his 
patron saint. 

Early in 1708 Charles XII began the long ex- 
pected invasion of Russia. Peter withdrew be- 
fore him, biding his time. The following winter 
was exceedingly severe, and the Swedish army — - 
now reduced to twenty thousand men — was in 
sore straits for food and ammunition. In May 
Charles laid siege to Poltava in the hope of secur- 
ing supplies by its capture. A decisive battle took 
place on the 8th day of July. Peter with a force 
four times as large as that of Charles easily van- 
quished his enemy, and within ten days forced the 
remnant of the Swedish army to surrender. 
Charles escaped and took refuge among the 
Turks. 

During the following year Charles was unceas- 
ing in his efforts to involve the Sultan in a quarrel 
with Peter. His diplomacy produced no results, 
but his ducats proved too strong a temptation, 
and in December Turkey declared war on Rus- 
sia. On the 17th of March Peter set out from 
Moscow with an army of forty-five thousand men. 
He was accompanied by Catherine, who had re- 
cently been proclaimed as his wife. The cam- 
paign was disastrous. In July Peter's forces, 



42 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

which were stationed on the river Pnith, were 
hemmed in on all sides. The Turks numbered 
five times as many as the Russians. Peter faced 
either captivity or death. In this desperate situa- 
tion Catherine urged him repeatedly to open nego- 
tiations with the enemy. It seemed worse than 
useless, but finally he followed her advice. 
Greatly to his surprise, the Grand Vizier offered 
acceptable terms. A treaty was signed and the 
Russians withdrew in haste. Peter never ceased 
to be grateful to Catherine for the diplomatic 
counsel which enabled him to extricate his army 
from its uncomfortable position on the Pruth. 



CHAPTER V 

PETER THE GREAT (concluded) 

PETER now devoted his energies to the 
north. Two summer campaigns in 171 1 
and 17 1 2 were barren of results, but the three 
following effected the conquest of Finland. 

In 17 16 and 171 7 ill health compelled Peter 
to resort to the German baths. Then came the 
blackest year of his life. 

Alexis, eldest son of Peter and Eudoxia, was 
born in 1690. Quiet, reflective and pious in tem- 
perament, he greatly disappointed his father by 
never developing the slightest taste for military 
operations or indeed for any of the duties of a 
sovereign. Naturally all the hopes of orthodox 
Russians, who stood aghast at Peter's sacrilegious 
reforms, were centered in this prince. 

At the age of twenty-one Alexis married 
Princess Charlotte of Wolfenbiittel. This union, 
which began most auspiciously, was soon marred 
by acts of brutality (for Alexis now drank heav- 
ily) and by an unfortunate attachment for a coarse 
and ignorant Finnish courtesan, named Afrosinia. 

43 



44 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

In 17 15 death brought longed-for release to the 
sorrowing, despairing princess. 

Peter had used every means in his power to 
stimulate his weak-kneed son, but in vain. He 
now sent him a peremptory letter, threatening him 
with disinheritance, if he did not take an interest 
in the government. Alexis replied that he real- 
ized his unfitness for the throne, and renounced 
the succession in favor of the recently bom son 
of Catherine, his step-mother. Another angry 
letter from Peter resulted in Alexis' begging per- 
mission to become a monk. Peter gave him six 
months to think it over. In September, 17 16, he 
demanded a final reply. Alexis now pretended 
that he was starting out to join his father, but fled 
instead to Vienna, and begged Emperor Charles 
VII for protection. Accompanied by Afrosinia, 
dressed as a page, he lay concealed for some time 
in the castle of Ehrenberg and St. Elmo. Event- 
ually Peter's agents discovered his hiding place, 
obtained access to him, and demanded his return, 
showing him a letter in which his father promised 
him absolute pardon if he came back. Alexis 
yielded on condition that he might return to his 
villa and be married to his mistress. 

On the 14th of February a solemn assembly 
was convoked in the great audience chamber of 
the Kremlin for the trial of Alexis. On entering 
he fell weeping at his father's feet and plead for 



Peter the Great 45 

forgiveness. Peter stated the charges against him 
and then assured him of pardon, but demanded 
that he should name the accomplices of his flight. 
His confession was followed by a series of hor- 
rible executions. 

Soon afterwards Afrosinia arrived in Moscow 
and was examined. Her statements were made 
a pretext for a second trial. Alexis was now 
charged with having failed to make a full con- 
fession. The Tsar sought to place the responsi- 
bility of his son's sentence upon the bishops and 
high clergy, but they shrewdly evaded it. A High 
Court of Justice, — ministers, senators. Officers of 
the Guard, one hundred and twenty-seven in all, — 
was assembled. Before this court Alexis, having 
been tortured and knouted, admitted that he 
feared his father, that he desired his death, and 
that he might even have been induced to take 
part in a revolt against him. Again he was tor- 
tured and knouted and examined, but no further 
confession could be extorted from him. On the 
5th of July the court adjudged him a traitor and 
sentenced him to death. Nevertheless, two days 
later Alexis was tortured and interrogated once 
more in the presence of the Tsar and the court. 
Complete exhaustion followed. At six o*clock 
that evening Alexis was dead. 

Official announcement was made that he was 
stricken with a malady similar to apoplexy, but 



46 Hussia in the Summer of IQI^ 

ugly rumors were rife concerning his death. It 
was variously stated that he was beaten by the 
Tsar until he died, that he was poisoned, that 
his veins were opened, that he was beheaded. 
The truth may never be known, but there is no 
question that he was cruelly hounded to death by 
his infuriated and merciless father. 

After an adventurous existence for five years 
among the Turks, Charles XII started homeward 
in 1 7 14. Disguised as a merchant he made his 
way on horseback to Vienna and thence through 
Germany to Stralsund, a city which was still in 
the possession of the Swedes. Despite the most 
heroic resistance Stralsund was captured next 
year, but Charles escaped in a small boat to Swe- 
den. Here he collected a force of twenty thou- 
sand men and held his enemies off till 17 18. In 
the autumn of that year he made an expedition 
to Norway, and while besieging Fredrikshall was 
shot and killed. Peace negotiations after his 
death dragged on through three years. At last 
on the loth of September, 1721, the treaty of 
Nystad was signed. Finland was ceded to Swe- 
den, but Russia secured the Baltic provinces, and 
Peter returning in triumph to St. Petersburg was 
proclaimed "Emperor of all the Russias." 

Peter never knew what it was to rest. In 1722 
he invaded Persia and by September of the fol- 
lowing year a treaty was made, by which several 



Peter the Great 47 

provinces on the west and south of the Caspian 
Sea were ceded to Russia. 

As has already been said, Peter did not come 
to any realization of his responsibilities until after 
the disastrous campaign at Azov. It was then 
that he resolved to change the existing order of 
things in Russia. This idea of reform, vague at 
first, crystallized during his stay in Holland and 
England. The task he then undertook was colos- 
sal. To Europeanize a backward, inert, stub- 
born people, Asiatic in thought and manners. In- 
volved him in a life-long struggle. In certain 
lines he overleaped seemingly insuperable ob- 
stacles, in others he stumbled and fell. But he 
never lost courage, never grew weary. 

We have already spoken of his violent reforms 
In dress and social customs. This was merely 
applying a thin veneer to the manners of the 
coarse-grained Muscovites. Of his more sweep- 
ing reforms we can mention only a few of the 
most important. 

He created a Senate in 171 1, but found It dila- 
tory in action to the last degree, whenever he was 
absent from the capital. To counteract this 
tendency and definitely fix responsibility, he Insti- 
tuted nine Administrative Colleges or Depart- 
ments, and subsequently extended the system to 
the provinces. 

Peter's efforts to codify the laws were practi- 



48 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

cally a failure. In 17 14 he changed the law of 
inheritance, which provided for the equal division 
of landed property among the children, by re- 
quiring the father to leave it to some one of his 
sons. This measure led to countless family quar- 
rels, and became so unpopular that it was repealed 
shortly after Peter's death. 

Official corruption during the latter part of his 
reign became a public scandal. The Tsar ordered 
an investigation, which resulted in the condemna- 
tion of many men in high position. They were 
fined, knouted, exiled, or put to death. A few 
were actually pardoned. 

Peter rid himself of the Streltsi, as we have 
seen, and organized a large and well-disciplined 
army. He also created and maintained a credit- 
able navy. But such constant warfare as he 
waged required money. Hence his subjects — and 
particularly the serfs^ — staggered under a heavy 
burden of taxes. He instituted a poll-tax, but it 
brought about but little relief. 

The industries of the country — generally speak- 
ing — ^were in a state of stagnation throughout his 
reign, and were badly hampered by the constant 
changes of regulation he insisted on making. He 
was successful, however, in organizing the mining 
industry, and started the operation of many iron, 
copper and silver mines. 

Commerce was necessarily restricted by long 



Peter the Great 49 

wars during his rule. Nor was the forced diver- 
sion of trade from Archangel to St. Petersburg 
beneficial, until long after his time. But the ac- 
quisition of the Baltic provinces, including the 
seaports of Libau, Riga and Reval, stimulated 
trade in the north, and the addition of the Cas- 
pian provinces started a brisk trade with the east. 
A beginning was also made in the important canal 
system, which eventually connected the Volga with 
the Neva and the Dvina and opened communica- 
tion all the way from the Caspian to the Baltic 
and White Seas. 

In the matter of education Peter began at the 
wrong end. He founded several Academies, li- 
braries and museums, but neglected the common 
school. Consequently the masses remained alto- 
gether illiterate. 

Liberal in his own views of religion, Peter 
sought to free the people from superstition and 
fanaticism. He tried to improve the clergy, urg- 
ing them to inculcate morality rather than belief 
in forms and ceremonies. Here he only aroused 
bitter opposition. However, he subordinated the 
Church to the State by abolishing the Patriarchate 
and investing an Ecclesiastical College (after- 
wards the Holy Synod) with the supreme con- 
trol of the Church. 

These and countless other projects of reform 
were pressed by Peter with untiring energy. For 



50 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

several years towards the last he was subject to 
attacks of fever resulting from stone in the kid- 
ney. 

On the 1 8th of May, 1724, Peter finally dis- 
posed of the succession to the throne by the coro- 
nation of Catherine in the Cathedral of the As- 
sumption at Moscow. For Catherine it was the 
consummation of a most extraordinary career. 
Step by step this woman, possessed of neither 
talents nor education (she could barely sign her 
name) had advanced from a disreputable enslave- 
ment to the most exalted station in the land. The 
ignorant serving maid of Marienburg, who be- 
came first Menshikof's and then Peter's mistress, 
had been acknowledged and proclaimed by the 
Tsar as his lawful wife, and now she was crowned 
with fitting ceremony as the Tsarina of Russia ! 
Where can one find a paralled to this in all his- 
tory? 

Peter did well to settle the question of a suc- 
cessor at this time. In November of the same 
year, while on his way to inspect some iron works, 
he saw a boat full of soldiers aground and went 
at once to their rescue. For hours he worked up 
to his waist in the water and finally saved most 
of the men. This exposure aggravated his 
malady. He died February 8th, 1725. 

No proper appraisement of Peter the Great 
can be made without taking into consideration: 



Peter the Great 51 

(i) his ancestry; (2) his subjects; and (3) his 
times. 

(i) "Scratch a Russian and you will find a 
Tartar,** said Napoleon, and Tartar blood flowed 
in Peter's veins, through his mother's progenitors. 
True, his father was the mild-mannered Alexis I. 
Nevertheless, his grandfather was the kinsman 
of Feodor I, the son of Ivan the Terrible. Peter's 
worst traits may have been due to atavism. 

(2) The Russians were a barbarous people, 
long accustomed to the knout and to torture, to 
public executions, to the sight of wretches hang- 
ing on the gallows and ghastly heads nailed to 
palace portals. 

(3) Despite the notable advance In civiliza- 
tion that had been made in other European coun- 
tries through the influence of the Crusades and 
the Renaissance, even among them the age of 
Peter the Great was characterized by religious 
persecutions attended with frightful atrocities. 
The nobles were dissipated and shamelessly im- 
moral. The lower classes were ignorant, de- 
graded and drunken. 

With such an ancestry and environment — ^both 
remote and near — it is small wonder that a youth 
of Peter's choleric temperament developed seri- 
ous faults of character. 

He was coarse, sometimes brutal; passionate, 
often violent. He habitually drank to excess ; he 



52 Russia in the Summer of JQ14 

was indescribably immoral in his relations to 
women. 

Always naively boyish in manner, he lacked 
dignity and poise. His exuberant spirits and 
grotesque sense of humor led him to engage in 
all sorts of practical jokes and coarse buffoonery. 

Overflowing with the vital energy of a dozen 
ordinary men, Peter found pleasure and recrea- 
tion in labor, in action. His mind was quick, clear 
and versatile, though lack of education rendered 
it superficial. He was impulsive and changeable 
in regard to details, but he never swerved from 
his main plans and purposes. Singularly free 
from superstition, he despised religious ceremony 
and treated dissenters with respect. 

He was sincerely desirous of improving his peo- 
ple. His reforms, though only partially success- 
ful, evinced genuine constructive ability. For a 
monarch he set an unusual example to his subjects 
by his willingness to work with his hands, by his 
refusal to accept a large income, by insisting on 
serving in subordinate positions, and by brave 
acts of self-sacrifice even at the peril of his life. 

Peter was not a military genius. Yet he in- 
spired his officers and men with persistence and 
energy. He added considerable territory to his 
dominion and opened access to two seas. 

More than all else he roused his people from 
their lethargy and forced them into contact with 



Peter the Great 53 

neighboring nations. In the short space of thirty 
years, through the resistless energy of this super- 
man, isolated, uninfluential Russia took her proud 
place among the Great Powers of Europe. It was 
a glorious achievement, for which he unquestion- 
ably deserves to be called "Peter the Great." 



CHAPTER VI 

MEMORIALS OF PETER THE GREAT PETERHOF 

ST. PETERSBURG was the creation of Peter 
the Great. This remarkable genius saw how 
essential it was that land-locked Russia should 
have a seaport in the north, and selected the 
boggy site on the banks of the river Neva for a 
city, "a window" it has been called, by which his 
semi-barbarous people might look out into civil- 
ized Europe. Here in 1703, upon land ''destined 
by nature for the abode of bears and wolves," he 
began by laying the foundation of the Fortress 
of St. Peter and St. Paul. Toiling with titanic 
energy, he pressed the work on indefatigably in 
spite of attacks by his enemy the Swedes, and 
within nine years had the satisfaction of moving 
the seat of government from Moscow to his new 
capital. 

Among the splendid monuments of the city by 
far the most impressive is Falconet's equestrian 
statue in bronze of the great emperor. It is sit- 
uated in a small park adjoining the river, — an ad- 
mirable setting for a monument which requires 
untrammeled space and a broad outlook in order 

54 





Peter the Great, a monument daring in design, superb in 
execution From the summit of a rugged mountain, repre- 
senting his colossal difficulties, the emperor at last in triumph 
is viewing the city he created. 



Memorials of Peter the Great — Peterhof 55 

to carry out the highly original conception of its 
sculptor. 

The pedestal is an enormous block of rough- 
hewn granite sixteen feet high, In shape a moun- 
tain, hollowed out in front and topped by a solid 
base with perpendicular sides except in the rear, 
where it slopes at first gradually and then more 
rapidly to the ground. Up this rocky slope the 
emperor has urged his way and Is represented in 
the act of reining In his rearing horse as he gains 
the summit. The monarch's face Is turned toward 
the Neva, his outstretched hand pointing to the 
city he has built. Trampled beneath the hoofs of 
his horse is a serpent, emblematic of the tortuous 
difficulties surmounted by the iron will of his mas- 
ter. It is a monument of rare merit, daring in 
design and superb In execution, one that deserves 
to be ranked among the most powerful and im- 
pressive in all Europe. 

Across the river Neva beyond the Fortress of 
St. Peter and St. Paul is the little cottage of Peter 
the Great. It Is a low wooden building (now 
encased In stone), containing but three rooms, — 
a simple dwelling suited to the man who, though 
an emperor, knew by personal experience what It 
was to toll as a common laborer. The room to 
the right contains a chair and other wooden fur- 
niture, evidences of Peter's skill in carpentry. In 



56 Russia in the Summer of 19 14 

the back room is the boat In which Peter went to 
the rescue of some fishermen in a storm. 

But the small room to the left proved to be the 
most interesting in this cottage. Originally 
Peter's bedroom, it is now a chapel, held in great 
reverence because it contains the picture of the 
Saviour which Peter always carried with him in 
his wars. As we approached it, our guide cau- 
tioned us against talking. At the altar stood a 
priest and several attendants, chanting prayers, 
while the space back of them was crowded with 
worshippers, some standing, others kneeling, but 
all fervently praying and crossing themselves. 
On the floor we noticed two large baskets filled 
with paper. 

As we left the cottage the guide accounted for 
the scene in the chapel somewhat as follows: — 
Russians from all parts of the empire, nobles and 
peasants alike, flock to this shrine every day. 
They come praying that they themselves or some 
one dear to them may be cured of disease which 
the doctors have pronounced incurable. And they 
come believing, for the picture of the Saviour is 
known to have worked many miracles. To 
strengthen their own humble prayers, however, 
the priest must offer their petitions with proper 
ceremony before the sacred picture. To this end 
they write out their petitions on paper and hand 
them to the priest, who recites them with appro- 



Memorials of Peter the Great — Peterhof 57 

priate prayers and consigns them to the basket. 
Then the petitioners return rejoicing to their 
homes with absolute faith in the miraculous heal- 
ing power of the picture. 

Our first impressions on hearing this explana- 
tion were — well, we must confess that they were 
a little — bewildering. But on further reflection, 
it did not seem so very different from certain 
remarkable stories of faith cure and absent treat- 
ment which are circulated in our own enlightened 
land. After all, human nature is pretty much the 
same the world around! 

We had always imagined that even in summer 
we should go about St. Petersburg shivering with 
cold. The highest meteorological authorities 
assert that the mean temperature for the month 
of July is 64 degrees Fahrenheit. As we had no 
reason to doubt the truth of this statement, we 
had put on heavy underclothing, and furthermore 
were provided with overcoats and fur cloaks to 
guard against the intense cold. Imagine our emo- 
tions, therefore, when towards noon of Friday 
the 24th of July, in this same city of St. Peters- 
burg, we found that the mercury was scaling 
toward the nineties I There was but one phrase 
in the aforesaid statement that we could vouch 
for, and that was that — "the temperature was 
mean I'* It was insufferably hot I 

When, therefore, our guide suggested a trip to 



58 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

Peterhof for the afternoon, it was welcomed with 
vociferous unanimity. "But we would have to 
hurry." Snatching a hasty lunch at the hotel, we 
secured an automobile and immediately started 
for the station at a perfectly furious rate. Was 
there no speed limit enforced in St. Petersburg? 
Or had our guide secured a doctor's license? We 
held our breath as the car shot through the streets 
like a meteor, missing obstacles, both vehicles and 
human beings, by the narrowest margin. Rap- 
ping on the front windows and calling to the 
chauffeur and the guide proved as ineffective as 
if those worthies had turned into stone. Utterly 
helpless, we cowered in our places, wondering 
whether the next moment would launch us into 
eternity. After ten minutes, which seemed as 
many hours, the wild ride came to an end, as the 
guide flung open the door and triumphantly an- 
nounced that we were in time. For the moment 
we were too weak to offer any remonstrance, and 
speechlessly making our way through the station, 
we sank into our seats in the train, grateful in- 
deed that we were alive. 

By rail the distance from St. Petersburg to 
I Peterhof — about twenty miles — takes a little more 
' than an hour. It was our first experience in a 
Russian train, and when we were sufficiently re- 
covered from the effects of the auto ride, we 
looked about with considerable curiosity. The 



Memorials of Peter the Great — Peterhof 59 

second class compartment we occupied was very 
comfortable, in furnishings and upholstery much 
like those in other parts of Europe. Thinking 
this might be a good opportunity to study the pro- 
letariat close at hand, we entered a third class 
car. But the tobacco smoke was thick, the floor 
was littered with cigarette stubs and fragments 
of food, and the odor of onions and cheese was 
nauseating. We decided to put off our socialistic 
investigations until we were in a fitter physical 
condition, and beat a hasty retreat to our own 
compartment. 

At Peterhof station we, or rather our guide 
(I do not know what we could have done without 
him), secured a comfortable carriage drawn by 
a pair of handsome bays, which bore us rapidly 
along a well-shaded road that ran past several 
picturesque ponds toward the "Great Palace.'* 
On the way we watched In vain for a possible 
glimpse of some royal party. But we were not 
altogether disappointed In our quest for some- 
thing novel, for It was here that we first saw Cos- 
sack cavalrymen with tall hats and long coats, 
and guns slung across their backs, riding with 
such superb ease and grace that we Imagined they 
were trotting slowly until they shot by and left 
us behind as though we were standing stock still. 

The palace was built as a summer residence 
for Peter the Great and was supposed to resemble 



6o Russia in the Summer of IQI^ 

the palace at Versailles, though it can hardly be 
called a successful imitation of its great French 
original. The exterior, walls colored red and 
white surmounted by gilded domes, is somewhat 
bizarre in effect. On the other hand, the interior 
decoration displays unusual refinement and taste, 
and we instinctively concluded that no mere man, 
not even the versatile Peter, could have been 
responsible for such a contrast with the outside. 
Each apartment revealed a different color scheme, 
the walls artistically decorated in red, blue, yel- 
low, white and gilt designs, harmonizing perfectly 
with luxurious furniture, upholstered in the same 
shades. One wing of the palace contained a suite 
of a dozen exquisitely furnished rooms, which 
appealed especially to the ladies in the party. 
Here at length the puzzle was solved. The palace 
had indeed been built for Peter, but it was after- 
wards reconstructed for the Empress Elizabeth. 
As for that special suite of rooms, it had been 
occupied by the daughter of Nicholas I as late 
as 1892. 

The palace stands on a natural terrace facing 
the Gulf of Finland about a quarter of a mile 
distant. As we left the palace, a dazzlingly beau- 
tiful scene opened before us. Down the terrace 
over steep flights of marble steps raced two mag- 
nificent cascades to a huge basin below. In the 
center of the basin was a gilded group represent- 




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Memorials of Peter the Great — Peterhof 6i 

ing Samson forcing apart the jaws of a lion, out 
of which a jet of water darted to a stupendous 
height. Gilded Naiads and Tritons vied with 
each other in spouting a perfect maze of streams 
into the basin from every side. Out from this 
turmoil of waters there stretched toward the shore 
a quiet ganal, flanked by fountains "leaping high 
into the tops of the trees," while In the distance 
beyond one caught a glimpse of the dark blue 
sea. The brilliancy of the scene was enhanced 
by the golden sunlight painting rainbows here 
and there in the spray flung from the gushing 
fountains. We lingered here a long time, moving 
about from point to point in order to view the 
spectacle from different angles. At last we tore 
ourselves away, convinced that the guide was en- 
tirely right in declaring that there was nothing 
of the kind that could compare with it elsewhere 
in Europe. 

Then followed a most delightful drive through 
the park. Water still claimed a large share of 
our attention. Every now and then we came 
across a fountain or cascade, displaying great 
originality and variety in design. At one spot 
the guide halted the carriage and led us to a tree, 
which suddenly burst into a full fledged fountain 
with jets of water springing from every leaf and 
twig. A little farther along we were invited to 
rest a while ^on a bench covered with a high 



62 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

wooden canopy. No sooner were we seated than 
a copious waterfall descended from the canopy 
on all sides of us, effectually imprisoning us until 
the guide saw fit to exercise his mercy. This, 
we were told, was an unending source of amuse- 
ment to the Empress Elizabeth, whose sense of 
humor in thus entertaining her guests, particularly 
the ladies, needed no further evidence. 

Another stop was made near a pond to wit- 
ness a truly remarkable sight, A bell was rung, 
whereupon the water became fairly alive with 
fish crowding to the bank. Here, however, we 
were a little doubtful as to whether it was the 
sound of the bell or the simultaneous act of scat- 
tering food on the water that attracted the fish. 
This led to a brief but heated discussion on the 
point "Do fish have ears?" — a question which 
we leave to our learned reader to settle for him- 
self. 

At no time of the drive did we escape from the 
ubiquitous Peter. Near the beach was a pretty 
Dutch villa that he built. Here we were shown 
his bed and nightcap. Again, there was a house 
called Marly, which contained, among other ob- 
jects of no interest, a table that he made with 
his own hands, also his bed and dressing gown. 
Last of all we came to the Hermitage, *'built by 
Peter the Great." But we had reached our limit I 
Much as we had learned to admire that extraordi- 



Memorials of Peter the Great — Peterhof 63 

nary man, we absolutely refused to see any more 
of his beds or bedroom apparel. It grieved the 
guide to the soul, but he insisted that at any rate 
we must visit the dining room in this cottage. To 
this we consented, and were really repaid for the 
effort. For the dining table was unique in that 
each guest by pressing a spring could cause his 
plate to descend to the kitchen below, there to be 
replenished and sent back! This clever device 
obviously did away with the presence of waiters 
who might report what was said at the banquet. 
It struck us as strange that with all our inventive 
genius some such scheme had not been put in op- 
eration in the banquet halls of clubs and hotels 
at home. It would be economical, novel and se- 
cretive. We offer it as a gratuitous tip for Tam- 
many! 

The afternoon was now well nigh spent, and 
we reluctantly drove back to the railroad station. 
On the return journey to St. Petersburg one of 
us asked the guide how the strike was progress- 
ing. 

"Well," said he, "it hasn't stopped yet by any 
means. Yesterday the Cossacks fired four vol- 
leys point blank at the strikers." 

"With what result?" 

"Oh, about two hundred of the strikers were 
killed or wounded." 



64 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

"But there was no mention of any such incident 
In the morning papers/' 

He shrugged his shoulders. *'This is Russia I 
The government censor takes good care that items 
of that sort shall not appear in the newspapers.'* 



CHAPTER VII 
Peter's last resting place, the winter 

PALACE 

AFTER our numerous encounters with Peter 
during the day, it was no wonder that even 
in our dreams several of our party were haunted 
by his ghostly presence in thrilling nightmares. 
The recital of these at the breakfast table next 
morning convinced us that it would conduce to 
our peace of mind if we were to "lay his shade** 
by visiting his tomb at the earliest opportunity. 
We therefore requested the guide as a special 
favor to take us that day to see the Fortress of 
St. Peter and St. Paul. 

To reach it we crossed the Neva by the Troitzki 
Bridge, and without much delay were admitted 
within the Fortress. The only building we were 
permitted to visit was the cathedral. It is of vast 
dimensions, domed (as are most Russian 
churches), and conspicuous for a slender gilded 
spire rising to the height of four hundred feet 
above the ground. The spacious well-lighted in- 
terior is decorated with many flags and banners 
captured in war, which gives it a certain military 

65 



66 Russia in the Summer of 19 14 

appearance. In this cathedral are buried all the 
Romanoff emperors (save one) beginning with 
Peter the Great, and with them the empresses 
and the imperial Grand Dukes and Duchesses. 
The tombs of the great Tsars and Tsarinas may 
be seen far up the aisle near the iconostasis, those 
of the Tsars being pure white marble sarcophagi 
without any ornamentation except gilded eagles 
at the corners, — a pleasing contrast to the elab- 
orate over-ornamented tombs one sees in the im- 
perial vaults of many European countries. 

Leaving the Fortress, one may drive around 
back of the island on which it is built, through 
Alexander Park and the Zoological Garden to a 
branch of the river called the Malaya or Small 
Neva, which here forms a Y with the Bolshaya 
or Great Neva. Cross the former by a bridge 
and you come upon a series of rather imposing 
buildings which line the two arms of the Y. These 
include the Custom House, Exchange, Zoological 
Museum, and the University. The Exchange, 
which occupies the middle point of the Y, is classi- 
cal in style, and in order to heighten the effect, 
two huge columns with projecting ship prows in 
imitation of the famous Roman columnae 
rostratae are planted before it. Such pseudo- 
classical structures, of which there are unfortu- 
nately quite a number in St. Petersburg, seem 
strangely out of place in a Russian city. 



Peter's Last Resting Place — Winter Palace 6^ 

The open space on the point near the Exchange 
commands an unusually fine view. Directly in 
front are the blue waters of the Neva, rushing 
impetuously in its course from Lake Ladoga 
toward the Gulf of Finland. To the left is the 
Fortress we have just visited, to the right across 
the river appear in succession the great red Winter 
Palace, the Admiralty with its gilded spire, and 
dominating the whole scene, the mighty dome of 
St. Isaac's Cathedral. 

Recrossing the river, we make a small circuit 
and approach the Winter Palace on the side op- 
posite to that we have just seen. A short passage 
from the main street ends in an archway leading 
into the great Palace Square. 

In the center of the Square is the Alexander 
Column, erected in honor of Alexander I. It is 
a magnificent monolith of red Finnish granite, 
nearly one hundred feet high. On a huge ball 
surmounting it is a bronze angel, holding a cross 
in his left hand, while he points with his right 
heavenward. 

The palace, the Tsar's residence in winter, is on 
the north side of the square. It is Rve hundred 
feet long and ninety-two feet high, and is said to 
contain one thousand and seven rooms. The ex- 
terior is very plain, its color, a reddish brown, if 
anything accentuating its plainness. 

The mode of obtaining admission is typically 



68 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

Russian, and is worth describing. Entering an 
archway guarded by soldiers, the party is detained 
below, while one of their number and the guide 
follow a guard up a staircase and through a nar- 
row passage to a closed door. Here there is a 
halt of several minutes, after which the door is 
opened, revealing a prison-like chamber with two 
officials in uniform seated at a rough table. The 
party's passports are presented or vouched for 
by the guide, an entry of each individual name is 
made in a record book, and finally a pass card is 
filled out and handed to the guide, who must not 
fail to present a suitable fee to the officials. 
Thereupon the guide and the visitor take up their 
march again behind the guard and in due time 
return to the party. 

Needless to say, visitors do not see all of the 
one thousand and seven rooms in the palace. In- 
deed, the tour of the small portion that may be 
inspected takes over two hours and leaves one 
almost exhausted physically. Yet it is a palace of 
absorbing interest, both by reason of its bewilder: 
ing splendor and its historical associations. We 
shall confine ourselves to a very brief description 
of the more important apartments, — ^those that 
linger longest in the memory and flash before the 
mind the moment the Winter Palace is mentioned 
to one who has visited it. 

A most magnificent room, one hundred and fifty 



Peter's Last Resting Place — Winter Palace 69 

feet In length and sixty-five in width, is St. 
George's Saloon, adorned with white marble pil- 
lars and elegant chandeliers. At one end is the 
Tsar's throne, behind It the imperial insignia 
worked In gold on a red velvet background. Here 
St. George's Festival is celebrated annually on the 
26th of November. 

From this great hall we pass Into the adjoining 
rooms whose walls are decorated by beautiful 
salvers, which in accordance with an ancient Rus- 
sian custom are presented with bread and salt to 
the emperor, when he visits the towns of the prov- 
inces; and then on into the Throne Room of Peter 
the Great, brilliant with red velvet hangings em- 
broidered with imperial eagles in gold, its chande- 
liers and tables of solid silver. 

The Nicholas Saloon is the largest of all the 
halls, being one-third longer than St. George's, 
and is admirably jfitted for holding the court balls. 

The dining room — done in white — with many 
marble statues scattered about, and the Golden 
Saloon, decorated In rich Byzantine colors, are 
artistic as well as spacious. 

The rooms for imperial guests, like those in 
most European palaces. Impress one as extremely 
cold and uninviting. Many of the smaller rooms 
and corridors are hung with paintings of the 
Romanoff family, of distinguished courtiers and 
generals, and of famous battles, affording an ex- 



70 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

cellent opportunity to study Russian history pic- 
torially, if only one had the time. 

But to us the most fascinating rooms histori- 
cally were the apartments of Alexander II. Here 
we saw his library, study, and reception room, left 
precisely as they were on the day of his death. 
They were small and furnished with extreme sim- 
plicity, everything about them betokening the 
quarters of a plain soldier rather than the apart- 
ments of a king. In the study was the iron bed 
on which he died after his cruel assassination. 

Special permission is required for admission to 
the Crown Jewel Room, which is filled with glass 
cases containing crowns, sceptres, and jewelry of 
fabulous value. Among these is the sceptre 
adorned by the famous Orlov diamond, the 
largest in the world, weighing one hundred and 
eighty-five carats, whose history reads like a fairy 
tale. It Is said to have been originally the eye 
of an Indian idol, from which it was stolen by 
a sepoy. After many wanderings, it came into 
the possession of an Armenian, who brought It to 
Amsterdam, where it was bought by Count Orlov 
and finally presented by him to Catherine the 
Great. 

While we were in the palace, a sudden burst 
of music from below drew us to a window over- 
looking the square. It was the change of guard, 
which as at other capitals takes place at the noon 



Peter* s Last Resting Place — Winter Palace 71 

hour. Of this we saw little, but that chance view 
from the window led to our hearing from the 
guide the story of Red Sunday. In 1905, the 
scandals and disasters of the Japanese war had 
aroused great discontent throughout the Russian 
Empire. Peasant uprisings, strikes and violence 
in the towns and cities broke out on every side. 
At length the citizens of St. Petersburg sent a pe- 
tition to the Tsar, in which they expressed their 
distrust of the officials and begged him in person 
to hear their requests. Following this petition, 
on the morning of Sunday, January 22nd, an enor- 
mous crowd of men, women and children, entirely 
unarmed, gathered on the streets and filled the 
whole square in front of the palace. The "Little 
Father" did not see fit to appear! Instead, the 
Cossacks were let loose to shoot the people like 
dogs on the streets, while quick firing guns mowed 
them down by hundreds in the square ! 

A little later, I asked the guide privately, 
whether in his opinion the present unrest was 
likely to develop any frightful massacre like that 
of Red Sunday. 

"God forbid I" he cried. "The strike is abat-* 
Ing, as the threat of war grows more menacing. 
I believe the Tsar would welcome war in order 
that the people might forget internal troubles and 
devote all their energy to battling with a foreign 
enemy." 



CHAPTER VIII 

CATHERINE THE GREAT 

ADJOINING the Winter Palace is the Her- 
mitage, a museum of art, which, though 
founded by Peter the Great, was enlarged and 
made famous chiefly by Catherine II. These two 
names are inseparably linked together in the his- 
tory of St. Petersburg and Russia, and as we have 
already considered the character and achievements 
of Peter, we may pause here for a moment to 
become acquainted with the more romantic career 
of Catherine the Great. 

In the year 1743 a German princess by the 
name of Sophia Augusta Frederica was living 
quietly at the home of her parents in the unimpor- 
tant little state of Anhalt-Zerbst. She was four- 
teen years old, a healthy, vigorous, quick-witted 
girl, who in accordance with the custom of the 
German nobility in those days had been taught 
chiefly by French governesses and tutors. It 
chanced that at this particular time the Empress 
Elizabeth was in search of a suitable consort for 
her nephew Peter, Grand Duke of Holstein-Got- 
torp, the heir-apparent to the Russian throne. By 

72 



Catherine the Great 73 

a strange turn in the negotiations that went on 
the Empress was finally induced to make choice 
of the Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst. The offer of 
marriage was acceptable, and in response to a 
formal invitation from the Tsarina the princess, 
accompanied by her mother, left home early in 
1744 and after a tedious overland journey of six 
weeks arrived in Moscow. 

From the very first mention of marriage, the 
princess had made up her mind to fit herself in 
every possible way for the exalted position she 
was to occupy, and she now began her task by 
promptly taking up the study of the difficult Rus- 
sian language. Such was her girlish enthusiasm 
that she would rise at night and pace barefooted 
to and fro in her room, conning the words and 
phrases she was bound to master. This procedure 
unfortunately resulted in a severe attack of pneu- 
monia. Her mother, as was natural, urged upon 
her the attendance of a Lutheran minister (for 
she had been brought up in that faith), but she 
firmly declined and insisted upon having an ortho- 
dox Russian priest instead. Not long afterward, 
having recovered her health, she was rechristened 
into the Greek Church as Catherine Alexeyevna. 

In this incident of her first experience at the 
imperial court of Russia one may find fore- 
shadowed the chief characteristics of Catherine 
the Great. For it is proof that, girl as she was. 



74 Russia in the Summer of 19 14 

she was quick to adapt herself to circumstances, 
ambitious, courageous, determined, irreligious, 
and above all absolutely loyal to her adopted 
country. 

In August of the same year she was married 
and took up her residence in St. Petersburg. Her 
husband was singularly unattractive. Tall and 
thin, with a pale, pock-marked face and squeaky 
voice, he was possessed of no more mentality than 
a child. By disposition mean and stubborn, he de- 
tested his countrymen and doted on everything 
German. His ambition was to become a second 
Frederick the Great, but he never got beyond be- 
ing a tin soldier 1 He made no secret of his rela- 
tions with a mistress and thereby caused his wife 
unending humiliation. It was inevitable that she 
should turn from him in disgust. Unfortunately 
the loose moral atmosphere of the court and Cath- 
erine's lack of religious sense resulted in her be- 
coming equally notorious on account of her inti- 
macy with one after another of the dashing young 
officers and princes that swarmed about her like 
flies around honey. 

In 1754 Catherine gave birth to a son Paul, of 
uncertain fatherhood, who was at once appropri- 
ated by the Empress Elizabeth as her especial 
charge. Catherine now became a great reader, 
devoting her time particularly to French literature 
and philosophy. 




Catherine the Great. The empress, clad in ermine, in 
majestic pose. Round the pedestal are the figures of a few of 
her favorites at the court. 



Catherine the Great 75 

In the course of the ten years that had elapsed 
since she first came to Russia, she had developed 
into a strikingly handsome woman. Lustrous 
brown hair crowned a broad intellectual forehead. 
Her eyes were blue with long dark eyelashes., 
She had a Grecian nose, a well shaped mouth with 
good teeth, a dazzlingly white skin, and consider- 
able color. Well proportioned and graceful in 
figure, she carried herself with queenly dignity. 
Her pleasant voice, merry laugh, charming man- 
ner and magnetic personality made her a social 
favorite. 

Eight years passed by. In January, 1762, the 
Empress Elizabeth died and Peter was crowned 
Tsar of Russia. He began his reign auspiciously 
with several reform measures but speedily nulli- 
fied the popularity thus gained by a series of most 
arbitrary changes in governmental policy. In the 
first place, casting. aside the old-time alliance with 
France, he concluded a treaty of peace with his 
good friend, Frederick II, by which all the terri- 
tory that had been won by Russia during the last 
five years was most generously restored to Prus- 
sia I He then rid himself of the Preobrazhensky 
Guards and installed a Holstein Cuirassier regi- 
ment in their place, thus alienating the army. 
Lastly he exasperated the clergy by expressing 
an utter contempt for the priests and ceremonies 
of the Orthodox Church. 



76 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

Meanwhile the relations between the Tsar and 
Tsarina were growing more and more strained. 
On one occasion at a banquet he publicly insulted 
her by repeatedly shouting across the table that 
she was "a fool" 1 Finally he threatened to di- 
vorce her, declare her son Paul illegitimate, and 
marry his mistress. Following the illustrious ex- 
ample of his grandsire in dealing with Eudoxia, 
he sought to force the Tsarina into a nunnery. 

But Catherine was not a woman of the meek, 
submissive type. While Peter was estranging all 
classes of his subjects from himself, she had been 
growing steadily in popularity. As yet there 
were no suspicions of a plot, for she was cau- 
tious and prudent in speech and conduct. But 
her lover, Gregory Orlov, and his four broth- 
ers worked insidiously for her among the Rus- 
sian regiments with which they were connected 
as officers. 

Early in the summer Peter was at Oranien- 
baum, twenty-five miles from the capital, making 
ready to lead his forces, then in Pomerania, 
against the Danes. The sudden arrest of one 
of their number alarmed the conspirators and 
hastened the denouement of the plot. Catherine, 
who was at Peterhof, rushed to St. Petersburg, 
received the oath of allegiance from four regi- 
ments, and was immediately proclaimed Empress 
of Russia. Later in the same day she made her 



Catherine the Great 77 

appearance, mounted on a spirited gray horse 
and attired in the uniform of the Preobrazhensky 
Guards, her long hair floating out from beneath 
her cap on the wind, and was soon advancing at 
the head of an army of fourteen thousand men 
toward Peterhof. 

Peter made a feeble attempt to get possession 
of Kronstadt, but found that he had already been 
forestalled. He then offered to share his throne 
with Catherine. To this she did not even deign 
to reply. Finally he abdicated, and was sent 
under a strong guard to his own chateau at Rop- 
sha, where he spent the time drinking, smok- 
ing, and solacing himself with his monkey and 
his violin. One week later, July i8th, Catherine 
was informed that he was dead. Alexis Orlov, 
with several companions, had gone secretly to 
the chateau and had either poisoned or strangled 
him. There is no evidence, nor is it at all prob- 
able, that Catherine was cognizant of this mur- 
derous plot, but that she was relieved to be thus 
rid of her husband can hardly be doubted. 

The Tsarina soon proved herself a resolute 
and forceful ruler. In 1764 a conspiracy was 
formed against her in the interest of Ivan VI, 
great grandson of Ivan, the half brother of Peter 
the Great. He was the baby Tsar who had been 
deposed in 1741 on the accession of Elizabeth 
to the throne, and had been confined ever since 



78 Russia in the Summer of 19 14 

in the fortress of Schliisselburg. The plot was 
abortive, however, as the prince was slain by his 
guards in the very first attempt to escape from his 
prison. 

A much more critical period for Catherine be- 
gan in 1 77 1, when Pougatchef, a Cossack outlaw, 
proclaimed himself the champion of the down- 
trodden peasantry throughout the empire. Tak- 
ing his cue from the False Pretenders of the In- 
terregnum, he sought to increase his prestige by 
claiming that Peter III had not been slain after 
all; the corpse, which had been so ostentatiously 
exhibited in public, was a fake ; lo ! he was the 
noble emperor himself, destined by Fate's decree 
to wrest the throne from his perfidious consort 
and to restore the line of the Romanoffs ! Four 
years elapsed before this impudent masquerader 
was finally conquered and taken prisoner. He 
was transported like a wild beast in a cage to 
Moscow, where he was publicly beheaded and 
quartered. Thereafter no attempt was -made to 
unseat Catherine from her throne. 

During the first decade of her reign her ad- 
ministration of internal affairs was remarkably 
wise and beneficent. Under her direction an as- 
sembly of representatives from all the provinces 
recodified the laws of the nation. She constructed 
canals and encouraged immigration, established 
schools and hospitals, built the great Foundling 



Catherine the Great 79 

Asylum in Moscow, instituted military and naval 
colleges, fostered literature and art. She also 
endeavored to improve sanitary conditions, and 
set an example to her subjects by being among the 
first to be inoculated for small-pox. 

In her conduct of foreign affairs Catherine 
was far-sighted and shrewd, though sometimes un- 
scrupulous. When she first ascended the throne, 
Poland was in a condition of chaos and anarchy. 
Seizing this opportunity, she succeeded in obtain- 
ing the election of her lover, Stanislaus Poniatow- 
ski, as sovereign of that country. But Austria 
and Prussia kept pressing their claims insatiably, 
and ultimately she was forced to change her pol- 
icy and consent to a division of the spoils. She 
managed, however, to secure the largest slice of 
unhappy Poland in the ruthless partitions that 
took place in 1771, 1793 and 1795. 

As the sinister designs of the three conspira- 
tors against Poland began to unfold, Turkey be- 
came alarmed at the possibility of losing a buffer 
state and in 1768 declared war upon Russia. In 
several campaigns that followed she was dis- 
astrously defeated on both land and sea. At 
the end of six years she was compelled to sue for 
peace and in pursuance of the terms was forced 
to cede the Crimea to the victorious Russians. 

For a time Catherine entertained a visionary 
scheme of re-establishing the Byzantine Empire 



8o Russia in the Summer of igi4 

with a prince of Russia upon the throne, but In 
this she had to yield finally to the opposition of 
the Great Powers. She did not, however, aban- 
don the idea of driving the Turks out of Europe. 
War with them broke out for the second time in 
1787 and lasted until 1792. The Russian armies 
again showed marked superiority over the Turk- 
ish forces in a series of brilliant victories. Cath- 
erine did not accomplish all she had hoped for, 
but was successful in adding largely to her do- 
minion. 

During the American Revolution she protested 
strongly against the unjust treatment of neutral 
vessels by the British Admiralty. In 1780 she 
joined Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Prussia and 
Portugal, in announcing the principle of "armed 
neutrality,'* according to which the ships of neu- 
tral nations were to be allowed freedom of navi- 
gation along the coasts of belligerent powers, to- 
gether with the right to carry cargoes of any de- 
scription except contraband, the latter being limit- 
ed to arms and munitions. 

Although Catherine saw fit to pursue her hus- 
band's foreign policy of joining in alliance with 
Austria and Prussia, she was an enthusiastic ad- 
mirer of French philosophy, literature and art. 
She corresponded with Voltaire, entertained 
Diderot at her court, and reorganized the laws 
of Russia in keeping with the principles of Mon- 



Catherine the Great 8 1 

tesquleu. Nor was she content with merely being 
a patron of literature. She wrote two books for 
her grandsons, and composed several dramas, 
which were acted upon the stage in her private 
theater at the Hermitage. The outbreak of the 
French Revolution, however, dampened her en- 
thusiasm for French models. So incensed did 
she become at the course of events in France 
that she finally forbade the publication of any 
French works in Russia. 

The close of her reign was marked by increased 
extravagance and immorality in her court. She 
died by a stroke of apoplexy on the loth of No- 
vember, 1796. 

As is generally the case with persons of san- 
guine temperament, Catherine's character reveals 
some rather curious inconsistencies. Usually 
good-natured, she was also quick-tempered. She 
was kind to her servants (who adored her), and 
yet on occasion she did not scruple to order the 
knout to be used upon refractory citizens. She 
was a fond grandmother, but she treated her son 
Paul harshly and was utterly indifferent to the 
family she left in Germany. Without the slight- 
est tinge of hypocrisy in her nature, she loved to 
stage the scene for a spectacular appearance be- 
fore her admiring subjects. 

The strength of her character lay in an indomi- 



82 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

table will, unwavering courage, and absolute im- 
perturbability. Her greatest weakness, manifest- 
ing itself in a series of openly acknowledged 
lovers that lasted till the very end of her life, 
may be accounted for in the first instance by her 
being mated with a loathsome husband in the 
midst of an immoral court, and subsequently by 
her unreligious nature and her frank acceptance 
of Voltaire's philosophy. 

Catherine was endowed by nature with unusual 
intellectual power. In no sense profound, she 
was nevertheless a keen student of history and 
philosophy. It was her constant practice to spend 
at least one hour every day in reading her favorite 
authors. As a writer she was neither creative 
nor original, but she displayed a lively wit and 
humor in her satirical attacks on the foibles of 
her time. A vivid imagination together with the 
rare gift of expressing her ideas epigrammatical- 
ly and pungently made her a most brilliant conver- 
sationalist. 

Her own appreciation of literature naturally 
made her sincerely desirous of instituting a gen- 
eral system of public education in all parts of her 
realm. But in this she failed, partly because of 
the inertness of her people and partly because she 
was too deeply engrossed with ambitious political 
schemes. Credit must be given her, however, 
for being the first great European sovereign to 



Catherine the Great 83 

become Interested in female education, as is evi- 
denced by the still existing School for Girls, which 
she founded in the Smolni Convent at St. Peters- 
burg in 1764. 

Catherine was a munificent patroness of art, 
not because she had any real appreciation of it, 
but because she was bound to increase the splen- 
dor of her capital in every possible direction. 

But it is as a sovereign and a ruler that Cath- 
erine displayed true greatness. Grant — as we 
must — that "the eternal feminine^' was all too evi- 
dent in the choice of her lovers as her ministers. 
Nevertheless her own profound knowledge of 
human nature, her sagacity in dealing with men, 
and her innate skill in diplomacy made her easily 
the superior of all the monarchs of her age. In 
masterful energy she proved a worthy successor 
of Peter the Great by extending the frontier of 
her kingdom as far east as the Dniester. Her 
home policies were vigorous and stimulating to 
her people. Throughout her reign she subordi- 
nated everything else to her "ruling passion,'' 
which was to develop the resources of Russia and 
to transform it into a powerful and splendid 
state. 

That this unimportant German princess, who 
possessed no hereditary claim to the throne and 
at first was regarded as a rank usurper, should 
have succeeded in winning the intense loyalty of 



84 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

her adopted subjects as well as the respect and 
admiration of foreign nations, is ample proof 
that she deserves to share with Peter the Great 
the distinction and honor of making backward 
Russia one of the Great Powers of modern Eu- 
rope. 




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CHAPTER IX 

THE HERMITAGE RUSSIAN ART 

IT IS to Catherine the Great that the Hermitage 
largely owes its fame. From her apartments 
in the Winter Palace she could cross over direct- 
ly to the Hermitage by means of a connecting 
bridge, and there, as its name indicates, she often 
sought seclusion from the burdensome cares of 
government. 

It is well worth a visit. In the portico at the 
entrance we note the classic figures of several 
granite Atlantes, and in this instance must admit 
their appropriateness to a building containing so 
much pertaining to antiquity. We shall not lin- 
ger, however, in the many rooms illustrative of 
the more ancient Asiatic civilization, nor have we 
time to inspect the Greek and Roman sculptures, 
which are not to be compared with those in Greece 
and Italy. 

But we must at least glance at the Kertch Col- 
lection, an exceedingly valuable display of ar- 
ticles (excavated in the Kertch district of the 
Crimea) , which date back to the 5th century B. C, 
when that peninsula was occupied by the Greeks. 

85 



86 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

Here we see exquisitely wrought ornaments in 
gold and silver, necklaces, bracelets, rings, 
brooches, jewelry of all kinds, drinking horns and 
cups of silver repousse work, besides many ob- 
jects in bronze, ivory and terra cotta, — all at- 
testing the marvelous skill and artistic taste pos- 
sessed by the ancient Greeks. It is a collection 
valuable alike to the archsologist, the historian, 
and the student of art. 

We now leave the ground floor and ascend a 
fine marble staircase. On the landing at the top 
are many admirable works of sculpture by Ca- 
nova. Falconet, Rauch and Houdon, the most 
notable being "The Three Graces" by Canova, 
executed in that artist's charming though effemi- 
nate style, and Houdon's realistic portrayal of 
the ugly but expressive features of the philosopher 
Voltaire. 

Passing from the landing through an interven- 
ing room, we entered the picture galleries of the 
Hermitage. From what we had read and heard 
of the collection we had acquired a rather vague 
impression that it was well worth seeing, but a 
casual inspection of the paintings in the very 
first salon opened our eyes to their importance, 
and as we went through room after room our ad- 
miration and wonder increased. Here is an as- 
.semblage of two thousand pictures, illustrative of 
the most flourishing periods In the various 



The Hermitage — Russian Art 87 

Schools of Painting in Europe. The fact that 
they were hastily gathered by paid agents of 
Catherine II and her successors might lead one 
to the natural inference that, though numerous, 
they could hardly rise above mediocrity. Not so. 
On the other hand, it is no exaggeration to state 
that this collection abounds in the finest examples 
of the art of the Great Masters, particularly 
those of the 17th and i8th centuries. It is in- 
deed open to the criticism, that it contains but few 
pictures dating back to the early periods of any 
of the Schools, and that therefore it cannot but 
be disappointing to students of the history of art. 
This, however, does not alter the fact that the 
gallery is rich in paintings of rare merit. 

It has been declared weak in the Italian School. 
Yet a painting by Botticelli, two by Leonardo da 
Vinci, two by Perugino, four by Raphael, four 
by Sebastian del Piombo, ten by Titian, four by 
Luini, besides one or more each by such masters 
as Tintoretto, Correggio, Guido Reni, Guercino, 
Domenichino, Paolo Veronese, and others of 
less importance — more than three hundred in all 
— show that this school is by no means insignifi- 
cantly represented. 

Next to Madrid the Hermitage is possessed of 
the finest Spanish collection in the; world, in- 
cluding a score of wonderful canvases by Murillo 
and half a dozen by Velasquez. The French 



88 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

School with numerous examples of the work of 
Claude Lorraine, Nicholas Poussin, Chardin, 
Vernet, Watteau, and others is excelled only by 
the Louvre, while the Flemish School boasts of 
sixty brilliant paintings by Rubens, thirty by Van 
Dyck, forty by Teniers, and fourteen by Jor- 
daens. 

But it is in the Dutch School that the Hermi- 
tage excels all other galleries. Rembrandt is pre- 
eminent, admirably exemplified by forty paint- 
ings. There are portraits by Bol and Fr. Hals, 
miniatures by Gerard Dou, cattle by Cuyp, water- 
falls by Ruysdael, animals by Paul Potter, white 
horses by Wouverman, tavern scenes by Jan 
Steen, genre pictures by Van Ostade, Terburg 
and other Dutch artists. 

Enough has been said to show that the Hermi- 
tage is worthy of respect, even when compared 
with the galleries of Dresden, Paris, London, or 
Florence. Add to this the fact that the paintings 
are magnificently housed in spacious well-lighted 
rooms, elegantly furnished and adorned with 
tables and candelabra of malachite, lapis lazuli, 
and many-colored marbles, — and the reader will 
not wonder at our enthusiasm for this splendid 
gallery. 

Our visit to the Hermitage, as may be sup- 
posed, was immediately suggestive of a number of 
questions concerning Russian art. Here was a 



The Hermitage — Russian Art 89 

large collection of remarkable paintings, gathered 
not merely to enhance the splendors of the me- 
tropolis and the munificence of its rulers, but un- 
doubtedly to establish a standard of art for their 
semi-barbarous empire. Did these rulers and 
their successors take any steps to foster the 
growth of art among the people ? Have the Rus- 
sians developed a truly national art of their own 
in painting, as they have in literature and music? 
Has the fact that they are in a sense untutored 
and therefore unhampered by too great power of 
reasoning and analysis, engendered by years of 
schooling, produced any dynamic geniuses in paint- 
ing? 

The first question was answered for us in the 
affirmative. Peter the Great sent young men to 
study in the art centers of Europe, and ever since 
his time the imperial government has offered am- 
bitious students the incentive of scholarships, en- 
abling them to live comfortably while pursuing 
their studies in foreign cities. 

For answer to the other questions, we were 
taken to the Museum of Alexander III, which is 
devoted exclusively to Russian art. Here we 
were greatly disappointed in our expectations. 
Slavish imitations of the classic style, inferior in 
drawing and color to their originals, character- 
ized the 1 8th century pictures. Then followed 
gigantic canvases — some being Scripture scenes, 



90 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

others harking back to antiquity — ambitious in 
design, occasionally forceful in composition, but 
either lurid or crude in coloring. An exception, 
however, must be made in favor of the marine 
painting of Aivasovski. In his ^'Storm at Sea," 
for example, this artist displays the highest tal- 
ent in picturing the irresistible energy and power 
of the wild waves, while his coloring of the trans- 
parent green water below and the dark clouds 
above evinces an unusual mastery of marine ef- 
fects. 

But we sought in vain for good examples of 
a genuine national art. Russian history and Rus- 
sian peasant life, which — as it seemed to us — 
might afford the most inspirational field for art, 
were represented only by a few works of ex- 
ceeding mediocrity. When, however, we ex- 
pressed disappointment concerning this, we were 
told to suspend judgment until we had visited the 
Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. There we should 
see that Russian artists had indeed developed a 
national art that does not suffer in comparison 
with that of their confreres in other lands. 



CHAPTER X 

ALEXANDER II 

CATHERINE II was succeeded by her son, 
Paul I, a weakling who reversed his moth- 
er's liberal policy. In 1799 he fought against 
Napoleon, but in the following year he espoused 
that general's cause so ardently as to challenge 
any sovereign siding with England to personal 
combat with himself I He reigned five years and 
was duly assassinated by the nobles. 

His son Alexander I was cast in a stronger 
mold. For a time he devoted his energies to 
the welfare of his people. He engaged in war 
against Napoleon, was signally defeated, and 
then in turn became his ally. Subsequently he 
became alarmed at Napoleon's ambition and 
formed a coalition with Sweden and England, 
which brought about the war that was made mem- 
orable by Napoleon's disastrous retreat from 
Moscow. The later years of his reign were un- 
fortunately marred by unjust and arbitrary deal- 
ings with his subjects. 

On his death in 1825 he was succeeded by his 
brother Nicholas I, who consistently followed a 

91 



92 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

policy of intolerance and repression in the treat- 
ment of his people. Under his vigorous conduct 
of foreign affairs, however, Russia became a de- 
cided menace to the rest of Europe. His atti- 
tude toward Turkey brought about the Crimean 
War, in the course of which he died disappointed 
and humiliated by reason of disasters to the Rus- 
sian arms. 

The eldest son of Nicholas, Alexander II, as- 
cended the throne in 1855. Of all the Romanoff 
rulers he is the most revered, distinguished alike 
for his nobility of character, wisdom and lib- 
erality. Speedily settling the Crimean War as 
best he could, he instituted a series of reforms 
in the empire, which challenged the admiration 
of the civilized world. 

His first and most radical measure was the 
emancipation of forty-six million serfs. For this 
he has been justly called "The Liberator." It is 
interesting to Americans to note that this oc- 
curred in 1 861, the year in which the Civil War 
began, and two years before the Emancipation 
Proclamation was issued by President Lincoln. 

The liberation of the Russian serfs was fol- 
lowed by the redistribution of land, the establish- 
ment of representative assemblies, trial by jury, 
freedom of the press, and kindlier treatment of 
the Jews. Plans were made for the education 
of the peasants in village schools and for the 



Alexander II 93 

extension of the privileges of university students. 
The railway system was developed and restric- 
tions on trade were abolished. 

These sweeping reforms wrought wonders in 
much-oppressed Russia. In the course of ten 
years there was considerable gain in revenues 
from the revival of industry and commerce. But 
the most beneficent change was produced in the 
progressive spirit that was aroused, particularly 
in the cities. 

Unfortunately, as was natural where there was 
but little education to build upon, there developed 
a strong tendency to extreme socialism. Radical- 
ism became rampant and alarmed the govern- 
ment. When therefore in 1870 the popular move- 
ment culminated in an appeal for the limitation 
of the absolute power of the Tsar, Alexander 
was convinced by his advisers that matters had 
gone too far. Not only was the petition refused, 
but the police were everywhere instructed to 
stamp out the radical societies by breaking up 
their meetings and arresting their members. This 
only fed the fire already started and induced a 
spirit of fanaticism. The Socialists, finding that 
their peaceful efforts were blocked by the police 
and the Cossacks, resolved to advance their sacred 
cause by blood, and became Social Revolutionists. 
Some in their fiery zeal vowed that all govern- 
ment — good or bad — should cease, and thus Ni- 



94 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

hilism was born. Princes, premiers and high gov- 
ernment officials were marked for death, and 
many were the victims of these secret societies. 

Four different attempts were made to assassi- 
nate the Tsar himself. Such appeals to brute 
force are apt to increase a monarch's stubborn- 
ness. But Alexander's patience and magnanimity 
stood the test. By the 12th of March, 188 1, a 
constitution had been formulated and simply 
awaited his signature. 

On the very next day it happened that the 
Tsar went to make a call upon his cousin and at 
two o'clock in the afternoon was returning in 
his carriage to the Palace. Following his car- 
riage were two sleighs containing his Cossack 
Guards. Suddenly a noise like a clap of thunder 
echoed along the street. A cloud of snow flew up 
behind the imperial carriage. A bomb had hit 
so close that it shattered the back and smashed 
in the windows. The coachmen wanted to drive 
on, but the Emperor, who was unhurt, learning 
that one of his Cossacks and a boy who was pass- 
ing along the street were wounded, insisted on 
getting out and going personally to see them. 
Then he turned to rebuke the assassin who had 
been captured. Meanwhile a crowd had gath- 
ered. His faithful Cossacks implored him to pro- 
ceed to the Palace. But he lingered to inquire 
further into the matter. At length with saddened 




Church of the Resurrection (interior). The wa'ls and 
piers are adorned with mosaics. To the left is the canopy 
over the spot where the emperor was assassinated, March 
13, 1881. 



Alexander II 95 

countenance he was approaching his carriage, 
when a man in the crowd threw a bomb which 
landed at the very feet of the Emperor. A flash, 
and it exploded! When the snow cleared away, 
the Emperor was seen in a sitting posture, his 
uniform torn, the lower part of his body a mass 
of mangled flesh and shattered bones. "Quick," 
he cried, *'home, take me to the Palace, that I may 
die there." And to the Palace he was carried, 
marking the way along the street with his blood. 
An hour later he expired. 

The Church of the Resurrection in St. Peters- 
burg was erected to commemorate the assassina- 
tion of Alexander II. Its nine domes are resplen- 
dent with enamel, — green, gold and white pre- 
dominating. The interior is gorgeous with 
mosaics, the walls and pillars are adorned with 
gilded banners and priceless icons. But there is 
one spot in the church that renders it more 
precious to the Russian people than all its splen- 
did adornments. It is near the entrance and is 
marked by a simple canopy borne on four jasper 
columns. Within this enclosure one sees what ap- 
pears to be a section of the pavement of a street. 
It is the identical spot where the great and good 
Emperor stood when he was felled by the an- 
archist bomb. In the Museum of Imperial Car- 
riages near by one may see the very carriage — 
its back still shattered, in which he rode on the 



96 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

day of his death. It Is with good reason that 
the people "rise up and call his name blessed I" 

Friday and Saturday had passed in seeing the 
sights that have been described. Nothing was 
now heard of the strike. But on Saturday the 
air was surcharged with subdued excitement. 
Crowds gathered In front of the newspaper of- 
fices to read the latest telegrams from Vienna, 
Berlin, Paris and London. Regiments of sol- 
diers marched through the streets and were re- 
viewed in the squares. One regiment, we were 
told, was being mobilized to the German fron- 
tier. 



CHAPTER XI 

CATHEDRAL SERVICES 

ON Sunday morning we attended service at 
St. Isaac's Cathedral. As has been men- 
tioned, the cathedral stands in the square on which 
our hotel fronted, and we had already become 
familiar with its exterior. It has one great ad- 
vantage over such edifices as St. Paul's in Lon- 
don or the Cathedral of Cologne, viz., that it is 
not crowded by adjacent structures. It is built 
in the form of a Greek Cross and is therefore 
compact in comparison with those that conform to 
the Latin Cross. Almost foursquare, it presents 
the same general appearance from whichever side 
it is viewed. 

Rising from a solid substructure, sixteen mono- 
lith columns of polished granite fifty-five feet high 
are surmounted by a pediment containing bronze 
reliefs. On the main roof back of the portico 
stand two graceful domed belfries. The corners 
of the roof are marked by angels with outspread 
wings, holding candelabra. In the space between 
the bell towers rises the central dome resting on 
a columnar drum. The dome is gilded, and is 

97 



98 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

crowned by a lantern with a cross above it. The 
exterior of the cathedral is therefore classic in 
style, wholly conventional and un-Russian, but 
it is most impressive by reason of its stateliness, 
its noble proportions, its symmetry, and the re- 
strained harmony of its coloring. 

We mounted the steps to the portico and were 
greeted by a long line of licensed beggars with 
arms outstretched, who expressed their gratitude 
most volubly for the copecks we handed them. 
The bronze doors at the entrance are evident 
imitations of the famous doors of the Baptistery 
in Florence. Some of the scenes depicted have 
to do with the life of St. Isaac of Dalmatia, in 
whose honor the cathedral was erected. He was 
the patron saint of Peter the Great, who was 
born on the feast day dedicated to the saint. 
Other scenes are descriptive of religious tradi- 
tions pertaining to primitive Russian history, the 
most notable being an extraordinarily vigorous 
baptism of the heathen Slavs at the time of their 
enforced conversion to Christianity. Beyond the 
entrance we were confronted by another line of 
beggars, but this time they were nuns wearing 
peaked hoods, which gave them a witch-like ap- 
pearance. These asked alms for their sisterhood. 
Near by we noticed a brisk sale going on of 
tapers and of holy bread shaped like a roll. 

Advancing into the interior of the church, we 



Cathedral Services 99 

found an enormous congregation, men, women 
and children, all standing, the men predominating. 
There was no distinction between rich and poor. 
Well-groomed gentlemen stood shoulder to shoul- 
der with peasants clothed In sheepskins. None 
of them paid the slightest attention to strangers 
like ourselves. Apparently all the worshipers 
were most sincere In their devotions. As the 
priests read the prayers, the people crossed them- 
selves from time to time. Some were kneeling. 
I watched a man accompanied by two boys, who 
were near me. All three knelt on the hard stone 
floor, praying for at least five minutes. A Mag- 
dalene with tears streaming down her cheeks knelt 
and In agony knocked her head against the floor 
again and again. Some even prostrated them- 
selves at full length on their faces. 

Each one had a taper, which was lighted at 
the proper time and placed before the picture of 
some patron saint. These pictures are called 
Icons. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, the 
Greek Church absolutely forbids all statues or 
Images of saints (for that would be a violation of 
the second commandment, "Thou shalt not make 
unto thee any graven Image"), but it does sanc- 
tion sacred pictures. These are usually encased 
in metal, silver or gold, only the faces and hands 
of the saints being exposed. The metal of the 
more celebrated icons is literally covered with 



100 Russia in the Summer of 1914 

precious jewels, diamonds, pearls, rubies, sap- 
phires and emeralds, some of them worth hun- 
dreds of thousands of rubles. Such icons are en- 
closed in glass, on which every devout worshiper 
imprints a kiss, even the children being raised by 
their parents to perform this act of devotion, — 
a practice which cannot but spread the dreadful 
plague of cholera, so common in Russia. "But," 
they say, "better the cholera than to cease kissing 
the sacred icon I'* 

We moved up gradually among the people, 
until we found ourselves standing under the cen- 
tral dome. Some distance in front of us a num- 
ber of steps led to a narrow platform, on which 
two choirs of men and boys were assembled, the 
clergy between them. The officiating priest in 
gorgeous robes read the prayers, while the choir 
chanted antiphonally. There was no organ, no 
instrument whatever. And no instrument was 
needed I Never had we heard such marvelous 
rendering of church music! The bass in particu- 
lar produced tones as sustained and powerful as 
the pipes of a great organ. The tenor was 
unusually rich and high, and blended perfectly 
with the sweet voices of the boys. 

The music was composed largely on minor 
keys, which accounts in part for the strain of 
sadness — I might almost add of sternness — ^that 
characterizes Russian church music. As we stood 



Cathedral Services lOi 

beneath the overarching dome, wave upon wave 
of exquisite harmony floated out toward us, now 
rising in grand crescendoes, now falling to the 
faintest pianissimo. Nothing short of years of 
training under the most skilful choir-masters 
could produce such absolute pitch, such variety 
of expression, such delicate nuances. Critics may 
claim that there is an absence of the grand choral 
effects one hears in Lutheran Churches or of the 
operatic brilliancy of Italian choirs. But it can- 
not be denied that Russian church music excels 
all others In creating an atmosphere of true re- 
ligious aspiration. 

Back of the choir Is the marble iconostasis, a 
closed screen, completely cutting off the Holy 
of Holies from the observation of the congrega- 
tion. It Is gilded and adorned with mosaics of 
saints. In it there are three doors, the middle 
one opening into the Inner sanctuary, the other 
two Into adjacent chapels. At Intervals on either 
side of the central door are beautiful columns 
of blue lapis lazuli and green malachite, with in- 
tervening paintings of the Virgin, St. Isaac, and 
the Evangelists. 

The Mass was celebrated with even more pomp 
and ceremony than In the Roman Catholic Church. 
Toward the close a hush fell over the whole as- 
sembly. A priest of unusual stature began to In- 
tone a prayer In a rather low key. As he went 



102 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

on, his voice rose slowly in half tones of increas- 
ing volume. At the close of each phrase of the 
prayer he gathered himself for a still higher and 
louder appeal for a blessing from the Almighty. 
The effect of the last tone was tremendous, filling 
the whole temple, echoing and reverberating over- 
head in the dome like the sound of mighty wa- 
ters. It was a prayer, so we were told, for the 
royal family, each tone representing a different 
member of it, the last being, as was befitting, for 
the "Little Father" himself. 

Presently an answering voice was heard in the 
Holy of Holies. The "holy door" swung slowly 
open, revealing a wondrously illuminated picture 
of the Saviour with hand uplifted in blessing. 
Then the Archbishop appeared. As he advanced, 
clouds of incense rose before him from the swing- 
ing censers. In his hands he carried two lighted 
candlesticks, each shaped like a pair of tongs, — 
one with three branches to represent the Trin- 
ity, the other with only two, to typify the dual 
nature of Christ. The congregation bowed and 
made the sign of the cross. The Bishop blessed 
the people and retired into the Inner Sanctuary, — 
and with this the service was brought to a close. 

Immediately afterwards we noticed that little 
children, many of them babes in the arms of their 
parents, were taken to the platform before the 
iconostasis. There priests were waiting to ad- 







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Cathedral Services 103 

minister bread and wine mixed in a teaspoon to 
the little ones. This was in keeping with the 
custom of the Greek Church, which regards the 
rite of infant baptism as an admittance to all of 
its privileges, even that of Holy Communion. 

When the congregation had departed, we were 
at liberty to examine the details of the interior 
more closely. Women, however, are not permit- 
ted to cross the threshold of the Holy of Holies, 
— a restriction which was by no means appre- 
ciated by the ladies of our party. As they stood 
at the entrance door, the over-zealous guide 
signed to them that they might just peep in, but 
even that was prevented by a stern rebuke from 
one of the priests, who happened to be hovering 
near. For a moment the fate of the men them- 
selves hung in the balance, but finally the priest 
was mollified and he allowed them to enter. 
Within the Sanctuary were the Altar and a beau- 
tiful silver-gilt model of the cathedral, the latter 
being the sacred Tabernacle. 

Not far from St. Isaac's Cathedral, on the 
Nevski Prospekt, stands another famous church, 
the Cathedral of St. Kasan. The exterior is a 
weak imitation of St. Peter's in Rome. Struc- 
turally, the interior too is a bit disappointing, for 
one naturally compares it with the magnificent 
proportions of the cathedral just seen. Its chief 
interest lies in the fact that it was erected by 



104 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

the citizens of St. Petersburg, as a token of their 
gratitude for the defeat of Napoleon. When 
his army set out from Moscow, it was laden with 
plunder, pilfered from that city, all of which 
was subsequently abandoned along the line of its 
flight. Much of this the Cossacks recovered, 
and in commemoration of the glorious victory 
they presented the cathedral with a beautiful 
iconostasis of solid silver. The church's connec- 
tion with war, as suggested by its origin and the 
gift of the Cossacks, is further shown by the ex- 
hibition of army flags and the keys of many cap- 
tured cities. 

Near the iconostasis hangs the miracle-working 
Icon of the Virgin, which was brought hither 
from Kasan. It is covered with pearls and gems. 
A curious story is told concerning it. For many 
years it was left open that the people might kiss 
the sacred picture. A Russian noble who had 
squandered his wealth was tempted by the sight 
of a most valuable stone that projected from the 
surface of the icon, and conceived of a novel idea 
to get it into his possession. Day after day he 
devoutly kissed the Virgin picture, each time man- 
aging by the pressure of his lips to loosen the 
stone a little more from its setting. At last the 
day came when he put his lips to the jewel, con- 
fident that on this occasion he would bear it away 
with him in his mouth. But his extraordinary 



Vathedral Services lOJ 

devotion had awakened the suspicions of an at- 
tendant and he was arrested in the very act of 
removing the stone. From that day the icon has 
been protected from the possibility of such viola- 
tion by a glass frame. The guide, however, would 
not vouch for the truth of this strange tale. 

It was in this cathedral that some of us who 
happened to wander to the far end of it were 
fortunate to witness a Russian baptism. Prepa- 
ration had already been made for the rite when 
we arrived on the scene. Seven infants were to 
be baptized, and they with their parents and spon- 
sors were gathered about the font. A scribe was 
seated at a table, busied in registering their names. 
Now the priest with his attendants appeared and 
began the service by offering prayers. Then a 
baby, stripped entirely of its clothes, was put into 
his arms. An attendant handed him what looked 
like an artist's paintbrush, which he dipped into 
sacred oil. With this he anointed the child, touch- 
ing it lightly on its forehead, eyes, ears, nose, 
mouth, and parts of its body down to its feet. 
Then with one hand tightly grasping its nose and 
mouth, while the other held its body, he immersed 
it entirely in the holy water three successive times. 
Thereafter, receiving a prettily embroidered 
shirt from the mother (or was it one of the spon- 
sors?) he with his own hands drew it over the 
baby, — an awkward task considering the struggles 



io6 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

and cries of the child, which naturally had been 
badly frightened by the ordeal through which it 
had passed. Finally it was handed back to the 
mother, who proceeded to dress it, while another 
poor victim took its turn with similar ceremonies. 
In the afternoon we visited the Alexander 
I Nevski Monastery, one of the four most cele- 
^ brated convents in Russia. The grounds, which 
are extensive, border on the Neva, at the spot 
where in the year 1241 Prince Alexander is said 
to have defeated the Swedes in a decisive battle. 
In 1724 Peter the Great moved the relics of the 
saint from their resting place in Vladimir to a 
church he built here in the hope that it might rival 
the famous Troitzkaya Monastery near Moscow, 
which for centuries had been the goal for thou- 
sands of Russian pilgrims. The grounds are en- 
\ closed by a wall and moat, rendering the mon- 
] astery a veritable stronghold, — a much needed 
^' place of refuge in troublous times. 
J Of the dozen or more churches that stand with- 
* in the walls we saw only two. In the first, which 
we were given to understand was the monastery 
proper. Vespers had already commenced. Black- 
robed monks with tall cylindrical hats, likewise 
black, were seated in a semi-circle, while one of 
their number read from a book placed on a stand 
in their center. We noticed that the monks' 
faces were unusually refined, and on comment- 



Cathedral Services 107 

ing upon this fact were Informed that these were 
all from the families of Russian nobles. Their 
chanting and singing in the service were admira- 
ble. The bass was almost as strong as that which 
we had heard at St. Isaac's, but the tenors, though 
sweet, occasionally flatted or forced their tones 
on the high notes. 

After listening to them for some time we pro- ^ 
ceeded to the church that contained the bones of \ 
St. Alexander. They were in a reliquary be- I 
neath a small canopy supported by silver columns, j 
Everything here was of solid silver exquisitely 
wrought and depicting in high relief many scenes \ 
from the life of the saint. 

Next we were conducted through several ceme- 
teries which interested us greatly. They were I 
even more crowded than the Pere Lachaise in^ 
Paris, so that it was actually difficult to thread \ 
one's way through the graves. The monuments 
were simple, oftentimes inartistic. Some of them 
were enclosed in iron lattice work, and within 
the enclosure chairs were placed for the con- 
venience of relatives who might wish to commune 
with the dead. 

The tombstones of many distinguished Rus-j 
sians were pointed out to us, those that impressed j 
us most being the grave of the writer Dostoyev-| 
ski and of the composers Glinka, Tchaikovski and^ 
Rubinstein. 



CHAPTER XII 

GENERAL IMPRESSIONS OF ST. PETERSBURG 

FORMAL sight-seeing came to an end for us 
on Sunday. Monday was occupied with 
whatever each individual elected to do. During 
the Rve days of our stay we not only became fairly 
well acquainted with the city by driving through 
it in every direction, but we made special effort 
to mix with the people by shopping in the stores 
and markets and by taking long walks in the twi- 
light, which lasted accommodatingly until ten 
o'clock in the evening. What were some of the 
impressions we gained of the great metropolis of 
the North? 

First of all, we were impressed by the immense 
extent of the city, the vastness of its squares, the 
length and breadth of its principal streets. Its 
population of over two millions is distributed over 
an area of thirty-five square miles on a perfectly 
level plain. Like Washington, it was laid out 
on a prearranged plan and is therefore un- 
marred by narrow tortuous streets, such as are 
common in the more ancient capitals of Europe. 
The principal thoroughfare is Nevski Prospekt, 

io8 



General Impressions of St. Petersburg 109 

a magnificent avenue one hundred and fifteen feet 
wide and three miles long. 

Several islands in the delta of the Neva con- 
stitute the city park, which, though ill-kept, has 
fine roads for driving, plenty of water for boat- 
ing and sailing, and a glorious view of the Gulf 
of Finland from the outermost "Point.'* An 
unusual feature of these island parks is the great 
number of handsome villas and palaces on the 
grounds, the summer residences of rich burghers 
and nobles. As we drove through this park, we 
were entertained, if not startled, at one spot by 
witnessing a fierce fight between two bands of 
wild muzhiks armed with heavy sticks and clubs, 
but this we hoped was likewise "an unusual fea- 
ture." 

St. Petersburg impresses the visitor as the crea- 
tion of a truly imperial mind. Massive palaces, 
royal monuments, stately cathedrals, immense 
public buildings, — all betoken unbounded wealth 
lavished almost recklessly upon it by its munificent 
rulers during the two centuries of its develop- 
ment. 

It is In no sense, however, a characteristically 
Russian city. The Nevski Prospekt, flanked by 
splendid church edifices, modern bank buildings, 
dignified shops, and blocks of arcaded bazaars, 
presents nothing that reminds one of an Oriental 
city. It may rather be called cosmopolitan. Its 



no Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

architecture, as we have seen, is largely pseudo- 
. classical. Here and there one does catch sight 
i of typically Russian onion-shaped domes, but even 
I these tower above walls that are classical or Re- 
j naissance in design. Only in point of color do the 
I buildings exhibit any genuine Russian style. Close 
I at hand the colors are decidedly garish, — yellows, 
; blues, greens and reds staring at each other in 
hopeless incongruity. The red in particular, 
j which to the Russian is synonymous with "beauti- 
\ ful," has a dirty brownish tinge that renders even 
j stately buildings like the Winter Palace positively 
' unsightly. 

When, however, one views St. Petersburg from 
a great height like the cupola of St. Isaac's Ca- 
thedral, the coloring as a whole is distinctively 
Russian. The erstwhile discordant tones now 
blend with one another in pleasing harmony. Glit- 
tering domes and flashing spires of gold illumi- 
nate the groundwork of rich colors with daz- 
zling radiance. The Neva, a long line of dark 
blue flecked with white, shades off with impercepti- 
ble gradations into the paler blue of the sea, and 
this in turn carries the eye on to the sweep of 
the bright blue sky overarching the whole scene. 
It is a picture rich in colorings that are never 
seen in such brilliance in the West. 

An especial feature of St. Petersburg, or at 
any rate so it seemed to us, was the unusual num- 



General Impressions of St, Petersburg ill 

ber of uniformed men one saw at every turn. 
Most conspicuous among these were the Officers 
of the Guard In long gray cloaks and capes, their 
breasts ablaze with military decorations, their 
swords clanking as they strode along. They con- 
stitute the Tsar's personal guard. Besides these 
there were many officers of the army and navy. 
Then there were the soldiers of several regi- 
ments. Indeed, we came to the conclusion that 
military men were more in evidence here than in 
Berlin. This may have been due in part to the 
mobilization of troops that was going on under 
extraordinary conditions. But, further, there 
were countless government officials who appeared 
in uniform. Theirs differed from that of the 
military officers in that they wore a long close- 
fitting coat with a belt and that they had dark 
capes. Add to these the policemen, the con- 
cierges, and an army of liveried employees and 
servants darting about the streets, and it is no 
wonder that strangers are led to think that fully 
one-fourth of the men in the city are in uniform. 
Of the army officers we chanced to meet wc 
can only speak in the highest praise. They were 
men of fine manners, who, so far as we could ob- 
serve, displayed no trace of that domineering 
haughtiness which is so offensive in Prussia. 
There is no question, however, that they are 
trained to look upon the lower classes with con- 



112 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

tempt, and that they do not hesitate to shoot them 
down without mercy in case of a workmen's strike 
or a popular uprising. 

Government officials have a unique standing in 
Russia. Peter the Great deprived the old nobility 
of all important hereditary privileges, but a new 
nobility has sprung up in the bureaucracy, as the 
family of every Russian official who attains the 
rank of Privy Councillor or Colonel, by reason of 
that fact, is regarded as noble and therefore pos- 
sessed of hereditary rights in relation to the gov- 
ernment. 

With the higher class of government officials 
we did not come in contact at all. The minor 
officials that came undfer our observation had two 
unfortunate characteristics, viz., they were arbi- 
trary and at the same time venal, brusque often 
brutal in manner, but always ready to yield if a 
sufficient bribe were slipped into the hand held 
ready behind their back. The latter fault, we 
were informed, is found in the bureaucracy 
throughout the empire from top to bottom. In- 
deed, it may be said to prevail in every walk in 
Russia. Even the army officers are not above ac- 
cepting a bribe. It is a well known fact that dur- 
ing the Japanese war money from the treasury 
that was apportioned for munitions and for the 
equipment of the soldiers was diverted into the 
pockets of some of the highest officers in the army. 



General Impressions of St. Petersburg 113 

Worse than that, funds that had been provided 
for hospitals and Red Cross supplies never 
reached their destination. Such disloyal pilfering 
became a public scandal, but Russians do not seem 
to have gotten beyond the point where they merely 
shrug their shoulders and regard bribery as a 
necessary evil of officialdom. 

To go back for a moment, let me cite an ex- 
ample of official arbitrariness, for the truth of 
which I can vouch. An American manager of for- 
eign tours requested the agent of the International 
Sleeping Car Company in New York to provide 
two special sleepers for the transportation of a 
party of tourists from St. Petersburg via Moscow 
and Nizhni Novgorod to Warsaw. The order 
was transmitted to the company^s agent in St. 
Petersburg. Later, when several members of the 
party found it impossible to go on the trip, the 
order was cancelled and the Russian agent was 
duly instructed to secure berths for the party in 
the regular sleeping cars of the company. In 
due time the party arrived at St. Petersburg and 
the director proceeded to the offices of the Sleep- 
ing Car Company, in order to make sure that 
the last named arrangement would be carried out. 
Here he was passed from one clerk to another 
with many tedious delays, but finally he was con- 
ducted to the anteroom of the general agent and 
told to wait until he could be seen. After the 



114 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

lapse of an hour he was called Into the main office 
and "granted audience" before the agent. The 
usual polite preliminaries were spoken on both 
sides and then the following conversation en- 
sued: 

"You have no doubt received communication 
from New York to the effect that our original 
order for two sleepers was cancelled and another 
substituted." 

"I receive no orders from New York whatso- 
ever. This is the main office of the International 
Sleeping Car Company in Russia, and — I do not 
take orders from — I give orders to the Com- 
pany's New York agent in all matters pertaining 
to this country." 

"Granting that, may I ask whether you have 
reserved places for the party on the regular sleep- 
ers?" 

"I have not. Do you Imagine that we conduct 
business here as you do in the United States? 
This is Russia. On receipt of your order I ap- 
plied for two special sleepers, and after going 
through much red tape in the various departments 
I was at last advised that the government had ac- 
ceded to my request. Within a month I am calmly 
informed that your manager wishes to have his 
order cancelled! It cannot be done. The trans- 
action is complete. The government has issued 
an order for the special cars. They will make 



General Impressions of St. Petersburg 115 

the trip indicated if they have to go empty, and 
you will pay for them.'* 

It is impossible to tell whether or not a per- 
sonal gift would have been acceptable in this case. 
For the American, fearing "international" com- 
plications, submitted to what he now deemed in- 
evitable, and pleased the party, if not the man- 
ager, by conveying them through Russia in sleep- 
ers "deluxe"! 

To come back to men in uniform, the police 
whose service we chanced to employ were in- 
variably courteous and helpful to us. Indeed, the 
feeling of being under surveillance with which we 
began our stay in St. Petersburg was largely dis- 
pelled in the course of five days. No restriction 
was placed on us in our sight-seeing. That, it 
may be claimed, was because we were accom- 
panied by an accredited guide. But even when we 
went without him, and toward the last we did not 
hesitate to do so, in the shops, on the trolley cars, 
everywhere, we were treated with politeness and 
oftentimes with genuine cordiality. In our walks, 
which were not confined to the main avenues 
alone, we did not attract the slightest attention 
from the people. 

This was perhaps because, as has been sug- 
gested, St. Petersburg is a cosmopolitan city. It 
has grown enormously of late years, and num- 
bers thousands of Germans, French and English 



Ii6 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

in Its population. All three languages are spoken 
in the larger shops, while in the smaller stores 
and in the bazaars we found that German was 
best understood. As a natural result of the large 
influx of foreigners the purely Russian citizens 
have become accustomed to their presence and pay 
little attention to them as they mingle with them 
on the streets. 

Another thing that impressed us in St. Peters- 
burg was the outward devotion to religion that 
the Russian displayed whenever occasion was of- 
fered. Mention has already been made of his 
attitude in church worship. Still more interest- 
ing were the scenes we witnessed at the wayside 
shrines. These were numerous, and we never 
passed one without seeing men, women and chil- 
dren flocking in to pray, and place their lighted 
tapers before the icon of their patron saint. On 
the Nicholas Bridge, by which we crossed the 
Neva repeatedly, there was an unusually beauti- 
ful shrine, which was crowded with worshipers 
at all times of the day and night, and we noticed 
that even the occupants of carriages or wagons 
made the sign of the cross as they drove by. 

Icons we observed everywhere, — in the private 
rooms of the hotel, in ofiices and shops, in pub- 
lic buildings and even railroad stations. Before 
these, too, one often sees devout Russians bow 
their heads. A charming feature of all these acts 




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General Impressions of St. Petersburg 117 

of worship Is the childlike unconsciousness with 
which they are performed. Apparently there is 
never a thought of any one being present besides 
themselves. 

The people of St. Petersburg did not Impress 
us as particularly energetic from a business stand- 
point. Nowhere did we see the brisk walking or 
lively hustling that are characteristic of Ameri- 
can cities. What walking there was seemed con- 
fined to the working classes. There were no 
subways, no elevated railroads. The electric trol- 
ley cars were well patronized and sometimes over- 
crowded with persons standing In the aisles and 
on both platforms. 

By far the most popular mode of conveyance, 
however, was the droschky, which Is certainly a 
unique vehicle. It Is a light four-wheeled carriage 
with a back seat that Is uncomfortably small for 
two ordinary sized persons and a front seat for 
the driver. The step by which one enters It from 
either side Is made by a bend in the black leather 
mud-rail running over the hinder and front wheel. 
The shafts are fastened directly to the axles of the 
small front wheels and are attached without traces 
to the horse by the saddle and collar. The 
leather harness Is as simple and as light as pos- 
sible. The horse wears no blinds. From his 
collar a light wooden frame rounded like a horse- 



Ii8 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

shoe rises to the height of a foot or more above 
his neck. 

The driver is a bearded man, wearing a long 
blue gown girt about the middle and a military 
cap of like color. At first sight these drivers 
appear to be very fat. Soon one notices that 
they are fatter than their faces warrant and won- 
ders whether they have stuffed their gowns fore 
and aft with pillows I The fact is that they make 
a practice of padding themselves in order to look 
prosperous! The finer the equipage, the fatter 
must be the driver ! 

The fare for a drive of fifteen minutes or less 
was twenty copecks (ten cents), but failure to fix 
the price beforehand generally resulted in an ex- 
orbitant demand, which in some cases could only 
be settled by an appeal to a policeman. 

For the most part the horses are brown or 
black, of medium height, with slender bodies, 
small ankles, long manes and tails, bearing all the 
marks of thoroughbreds. They are gentle and 
when approached give evidence of having been 
treated kindly. Many of their masters address 
them by pet names as they drive along. They 
are trained to trot very fast and when urged go 
like the wind. Countless droschkies darting to 
and fro, not infrequently indulging in short races 
with one another, give an animated aspect to the 
main avenues, especially the Nevski Prospekt. 



CHAPTER XIII 

MOSCOW — THE KREMLIN 

IT had been our original intention to leave St. 
Petersburg for Moscow on Monday, the 27th 
of July. As may be surmised, during the last 
five days we had scanned the papers anxiously 
for news on the international situation. On Mon- 
day negotiations were still going on between the 
various governments whose interests were most 
concerned. We were very much perplexed. Was 
the result to be peace or war? It was impossi- 
ble to forecast the future with any certainty, but 
after a long discussion we concluded to adhere to 
our itinerary. 

We started accordingly from St. Petersburg 
by the night express, which traverses the distance 
to Moscow, about four hundred miles, in eleven 
hours. Arriving at ten in the morning, we took 
up our quarters at the Metropole, a commodious 
and well-appointed hotel, centrally located in The- 
ater Place, the largest open square in the city. 
We were fortunate to secure as our guide Bethel 
Grundy, an Englishman who had lived many years 
in Moscow and was unusually well qualified for 

119 



120 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

his office. Under his efficient guidance we began 
sight-seeing at once.* 

Passing the Historical Museum, a massive red 
brick building at the far end of Theater Square, 
we turned sharply to the left and advanced on ris- 
ing ground toward a gate with two archways sur- 
mounted by pointed towers. Between the arch- 
ways was a chapel containing a miracle-working 
picture of the Virgin of the Iberian Monastery 
on Mount Athos. Occasionally by special request 
supplemented by the application of "the holy 
ruble," this sacred picture is conveyed in a blue 
coach drawn by six horses to the house of some 
sick person, for whose healing its miraculous in- 
tervention is invoked. This chapel is crowded, 
especially by women, day and night. 

The Iberian gate led up to the Red Square, an 
immense open space half a mile long and one 
hundred and seventy-five yards wide. On the 
right it is flanked throughout its entire length by 
a crenelated wall sixty-five feet high, the top line 
of which is broken at intervals by small towers 
and by gateways, — the latter being marked by 
taller and more massive towers. Nearest to us 
was the Nicholas gate, so called from the mosaic 
portrait of St. Nicholas fastened above the arch- 

* For the purpose of preserving, so far as possible, an 
historical sequence, the order of sight-seeing, as here 
given, differs somewhat from that which we observed. 



Moscow — The Kremlin 121 

way, which, thus runs the Inscription, was mar- 
velously preserved intact in 18 12 in spite of the 
ruthless attempts of the French soldiers to de- 
stroy it. 

Through this gate we entered the Kremlin, the 
ancient citadel of Moscow. It is in the form of 
a triangle, one side of which, as we have seen, 
runs along the Red Square, the side opposite skirts 
the Alexander Garden, while the base follows the 
bank of the river Moskva. In the 14th century 
it was surrounded only by a wooden palisade, af- 
fording slight protection against the attacks of 
the marauding Tartars. The present brick wall 
was built by Ivan III (1462-1505). Within the 
Kremlin are grouped three cathedrals, seven 
churches, a monastery, a convent, a palace, a treas- 
ury, and artillery barracks, — a typically Russian 
conglomeration of church, state and army I 

On entering the Kremlin by the Nicholas gate 
the visitor passes — ^between the Arsenal on the 
right and the Court of Justice on the left — toward 
the Barracks, in front of which are assembled 
some dangerous looking cannon, with pyramids of 
cannon balls close by, as though ready for imme- 
diate use. In reality, these field-pieces were cast 
three centuries ago and are as harmless as pop- 
guns I Nevertheless, to a layman at least, they 
present a very menacing appearance. Particular- 
ly is this the case with the largest of them, the 



122 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

Tsar Cannon, whose yawning mouth is more than 
three feet in diameter. 

Once past these martial buildings and the ar- 
tillery, however, one is likely to forget that the 
Kremlin is a fortress, for he finds himself sur- 
rounded by churchly edifices. Passing by the red 
buildings of the Chudov Monastery on the left, 
let us proceed at once to the Cathedral of the 
Assumption in the center of the Kremlin. It is a 
plain massive structure with five domes. The 
interior is unattractive. The walls, once gilded, 
have lost their pristine brilliancy. The pillars are 
bedaubed with pictures of saints and angels, 
monks and knights, in inextricable confusion. 
The dome paintings are very dim. The general 
effect of faded grandeur is unfortunately height- 
ened by the bright red coloring of the iconostasis. 

It is in this cathedral that the coronation of 
the Tsars took place. It also has the distinction 
of being the burial place of the Patriarchs, the 
supreme rulers of the Russian Church before 
Peter the Great^ abolished their high office. 
Among the relics is a picture of the Virgin, 
painted by St. Luke. We examined this with 
great interest, but could not distinguish a single 
feature. For aught we could see, it might as 
well have been a painting of Eve by Adam! 

A little beyond the Cathedral of the Assump- 
tion is the Archangel Cathedral, in which are 




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Moscow — The Kremlin 123 

buried the Tsars up to the time of Peter the 
Great, and opposite the latter is the Cathedral of 
the Annunciation, where the Tsars are christened 
and married. The last two cathedrals leave the 
same general impression as the one we have de- 
scribed. 

Close to the cathedrals is the Great Kremlin 
Palace, a dignified and imposing building. On 
the way to the entrance one passes by the famous 
Red Staircase. It is well named. Here Ivan the 
Terrible thrust his iron-shod staff through the 
foot of an envoy and held the agonized man in 
that position while he heard his message. Down 
this staircase the Streltsi hurled scores of Narysh- 
kins to their death during the riot incited by the 
Princess Sophia and her partizans. Subsequently 
it acquired a certain sacredness, being reserved 
for the use of the Tsar on the day of his coro- 
nation. 

The more modern portion of the palace con- 
tains assembly halls, throne rooms, and audience 
chambers, as magnificent and as sumptuously 
decorated as those in the Winter Palace. But 
a much more interesting feature of the Kremlin 
Palace is the older part, dating back to the 15th, 
1 6th and 17th centuries. Here is the Grano- 
vitaya Palata, a large low chamber with a vaulted 
ceiling, decorated with Slavonic inscriptions on a 
gilt background. The frescoed walls, ancient 



124 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

chandeliers, patchwork carpet and canopied 
wooden throne lend it a certain barbaric effect. 
In this room on the day of the coronation the 
Tsar, who must fast until the ceremony in the 
cathedral is over, banquets in company with his 
foreign guests. The Tsarina and her ladies are 
permitted to view the merry-making from an up- 
per window. It was only through this window 
that we were allowed to see the room. 

Still more interesting was the Terem, the 
palace occupied by Alexis and Natalia, parents 
of Peter the Great. The rooms through which 
we were shown were low vaulted apartments with 
barbaric ornamentation. In many cases they were 
connected by narrow corridors and steep stairs. 
Before Natalia's time the Tsarinas lived a clois- 
tered existence, busied with their domestic duties. 
They were supposed to be fitted for nothing 
higher than to breed children and to minister to 
the comfort of their lord and master. Natalia, 
to the horror of the court ladies, broke with this 
custom, and Peter, as has been mentioned, de- 
creed that women should participate in social 
festivities. The reform, however, did not spread 
much beyond the nobility, and to this day the 
Russian peasant looks upon woman as a slave 
rather than as an equal. 

The ancient church of Our Saviour in the Wood 
(so-called because in the 13th century, when it 



M OS com — The Kremlin 125 

was built, it stood in the wood that covered the 
Kremlin) possesses a shrine that is exceedingly 
popular with Moscow maidens. For the three 
kindly saints represented on the icon of the shrine 
are patrons of brides-to-be, as well as of virgins 
who entertain but a glimmering hope that some 
brave youth of their acquaintance will soon be- 
come an ardent suitor. Many are the candles that 
are burned in this chapel! Grundy insisted that 
occasionally among the parties he had brought to 
visit this church he had known even English and 
American ladies — mostly of uncertain age — ^to 
Imitate their Russian sisters by lighting a taper 
and placing it before the hymeneal saints! But 
we could not believe so base an aspersion ! 

The Kremlin Treasury contains an admirable 
collection of medieval armor and weapons and 
trophies, many of them of great historical value. 
In the Crown Room there is a dazzling array 
of imperial orbs and sceptres, of crowns and 
thrones and coronation robes. Another room is 
filled with countless pieces of gold and silver 
plate of the finest workmanship, both domestic 
and foreign. With the Inspection of these treas- 
ures our visit to the palace came to an end. 

It was only by dint of great diplomacy that 
Grundy secured permission for us to see the 
Synodal Treasury. A single representative card 
did not suffice here; the name of each individual 



126 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

had to be written out and handed In. And when, 
after considerable parleying, permission was 
ginidgingly granted, we were accompanied 
throughout by a priest and an armed guard, and 
the doors that were unlocked before us were 
locked again behind us. That did not, however, 
take away from our enjoyment of this remarkable 
ecclesiastical collection. There were gorgeous 
vestments of famous church dignitaries, adorned 
with pearls, emeralds, rubies and sapphires. 
There were richly embroidered and be jeweled 
episcopal mitres and copes (the ornamentation on 
these sometimes took the form of Slavonic or 
Greek writing). There were crowns and crosses 
and crosiers, cruets and chalices. There were 
prayer-books and books of the Gospels, valuable 
not only on account of the precious stones that 
decked their covers, but also because of their his- 
torical associations. It was an altogether unique 
and priceless collection, and after we had in- 
spected it, we frankly admitted that (under ex- 
isting conditions in the city) the authorities In 
charge were wise In taking extra precautions to 
guard It. 

Only a few steps from here we came In sight 
of the Tsar Bell. It is nineteen feet in height, 
sixty-one feet in circumference, and weighs two 
hundred and twenty tons I A huge piece has been 
broken out of one side, and this has given rise 




The Ivan Bell Tower, 300 feet high, crowned with a bul- 
bous dome ending in a glittering cross. Within the tower are 
thirty-three large bells. At its foot is the Tsar Bell, the largest 
in the world, with room enough inside for forty persons. 



Moscow — The Kremlin 127 

to a thrilling tale. The tall belfry, in which this 
king of bells once hung, In one of the great fires 
that swept over Moscow became a flaming column, 
from whose pinnacle the bell at last plunged with 
a frightful crash to the pavement below. This 
surely Is an entirely satisfactory explanation of 
the cause of the fracture. But alasl now comes 
along a learned antiquarian, who discredits the 
story *Hn toto** and asserts that the bell never 
hung in a belfry, but was broken in the process 
of casting at the foundry I Confounded be the 
prosaic old historian that shatters our faith in 
this picturesque legend! 

Nevertheless, as though to confirm the olden 
story, right next to the monster bell the great 
white belfry of Ivan Veliki towers three hundred 
feet into the sky. It is ^Yt stories high and is 
crowned with a gilded dome. It contains in all 
thirty-three bells, larger or smaller, distributed 
variously in the different stories. These bells 
are firmly fixed In position and are rung by swing- 
ing the clapper against the side. It is claimed 
that Russian bells are unusually sweet-toned be- 
cause a little silver is mixed with the copper and 
tin, but to our untrained ears the Moscow bells 
did not have the sweetness of those in the Nether- 
lands. 

The view from the top of the bell tower is 



128 Russia in the Summer of IQI4 

far-famed, but we were weary and balked at 
climbing the two hundred and thirty-six "easy" 
steps. On another day, however, I chanced to be 
wandering alone near the tower just after a 
thunderstorm, and feeling assured at any rate of 
a clear view, I made the climb. It was certainly 
worth while. 

Looking north, I could plainly discern the five 
concentric circles that mark out the city, first the 
Kremlin fortress, then "the Inner city" surrounded 
by a white wall with green towers, next "the white 
city" encircled by boulevards, still farther on the 
"earth city" dimly outlined by green foliage, and 
last of all the suburbs, stretching far toward the 
horizon. At first the only buildings that catch 
the eye are churches — churches everywhere, — 
their towers topped with Byzantine domes sur- 
mounted by glittering gold crosses. Many of 
these crosses are set above the Tartar crescent 
in token of the Christian armies' triumph over the 
Mongolian hordes that had turned the churches 
Into mosques. From both ends of the cross-bar 
hang slender golden chains, which, being fastened 
beneath, give the cross added beauty and stability. 
A second crossbar below, attached obliquely, is 
peculiar to the Russian cross. It is the foot-rest, 
and its oblique position is explained as due to the 
fact that the Saviour in the agony of being nailed 



Moscow — The Kremlin 129 

to the cross drew one foot up higher than the 
other. 

By degrees I began to discover, first the huge 
buildings set among the churches, and then in- 
numerable houses. On the right the Moskva 
River wound its silvery way. Toward the south 
were the Kremlin Palace, the great white Church 
of the Redeemer, and in the distance the Sparrow 
Hills. 

The storm cloud had broken in the west and 
the setting sun cast a flaming glow upon the many 
colored roofs and walls and towers. Slowly the 
red of the sky faded to a pink, the pink in time 
to a pearly gray. Stars twinkled in the heavens 
and answering lights flashed forth from the streets 
and houses. Darkness drew on and I hastened 
down, grateful for the impulse that had urged me 
to climb to the top of the Ivan belfry at eventide. 

To the right of the bell tower, as one looks 
toward the Moskva, there Is a considerable open 
space, at the farther corner of which appears a 
long canopied building. It contains a bronze 
statue of Alexander II of little merit. Turning 
to the left past the Nicholas Palace and the con- 
vent, we come to the Redeemer Gate, which gets 
Its name from a picture of the Saviour that hangs 
above the entrance. By imperial decree no man 
is permitted to pass through the archway with- 
out lifting his hat. The penalty for violating this 



130 Russia in the Summer of 19 14 

law is to be compelled to make fifty prostrations 
before the sacred picture! We watched with 
some apprehension a drunken coachman approach 
the gate, but even he had sense enough to lift his 
cap as he drove through I 



CHAPTER XIV 
MOSCOW (Concluded) 

LEAVING the Kremlin by this gate, we come 
out once more on the Red Square. Directly 
in front is the low round platform, from which the 
official proclamations of the Tsars were read to 
the assembled multitude. It was here that the 
frightful execution of the Streltsi by Peter the 
Great took place. To the right is the Cathedral 
of St. Basil, the most extraordinary church edi- 
fice in the world! The lower section of it, two 
stories high, is a confused jumble of chambers, 
chapels, and arcades, pierced by doors and win- 
dows rounded or square, with an occasional pyra- 
midal tower on top of the roof. Above this 
section rise eleven separate towers, varying in 
height, size, construction and color, each sur- 
mounted by a bulbous dome and ending in a glit- 
tering cross. The central tower, almost double 
the height of the others, threatens to become a 
pointed spire, but suddenly changes its mind and 
swells out into an attenuated bulb. 

Every conceivable variety is found In the orna- 
mental details, pyramidal and round-arched dc- 

131 



132 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

signs predominating. Each dome is sui generis, 
one being corrugated, another spiral, a third 
marked by twisted shell-like lines, etc., etc. The 
coloring is varied and bizarre. Yet, strange to 
say, this barbaric building, fantastic as it is in all 
its details, from a little distance produces an ef- 
fect altogether harmonious and pleasing to the 
eye I The interior is positively weird. We looked 
in vain for a large audience room. Beneath each 
tower there is a Delphic chapel, its wall deco- 
rated with grotesque figures, suggestive of idols 
rather than saints. 

It is said that after the building of St. Basil 
was completed Ivan the Terrible asked the Ital- 
ian architect if he could construct a cathedral still 
more beautiful. Misunderstanding his motive, 
the unfortunate man replied that he could, and 
immediately paid the penalty of his rashness by 
the loss of — some say his eyes, others his head 1 

The bronze monument of Minin and Pozharski 
in the Red Square recalls a historical incident, 
which goes to show what a true patriot, however 
plebeian his origin, may do to save his country 
from peril. Minin was a common butcher in the 
city of Nizhni Novgorod at the time when the 
Pretenders with the aid of the Poles usurped the 
government at Moscow. His appeals to his coun- 
trymen finally resulted in the organization of an 
army, which under the leadership of Prince Poz- 




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Moscow — The Kremlin 133 

harski marched to Moscow, routed the Poles, 
and drove them back into their own borders. 

The side of the Red Square opposite the Krem- 
lin is occupied by several blocks of shops, hand- 
some three storied buildings with glass-roofed 
arcades running through them. These are not, 
like our great department stores, managed by one 
company, but are the shops of separate individuals 
or firms selling goods of every kind. As they 
were not far from our hotel, we often visited them 
in our leisure moments, especially the art stores, 
jewelers, and antiquarian shops. The antiques, 
photographs, icons, and beautiful enameled ware 
proved very attractive to us. At first we were 
somewhat overawed by the dignity of the shop- 
keepers and could not conceive of their bargaining 
with customers. We soon learned, however, to 
begin by offering one-half what they asked and 
seldom failed to effect a reduction of at least one- 
third off the original price. 

The house of the Boyar Romanov, not far 
from St. Basil, is well worth seeing from cellar 
to attic. It is the restoration of a typical i6th 
century noble's dwelling and presents a fairly dis- 
tinct picture of the domestic life of that time. 
The servants lived below on the same floor as the 
kitchen. The stairs are narrow and steep, the fur- 
niture is scanty, there is no bath room, and heat- 
ing facilities are sadly inadequate. The sight of 



134 Russia in the Summer of igJ4 

the children's crude toys and primers makes one 
wonder how the older members of the family em- 
ployed their leisure time without books or pianos, 
or even Victrolas. To be sure, there is a chapel 
at hand, but then there are limits to devotional 
exercises! A few costumed models would add 
greatly to the interest and instructiveness of this 
house. 

Farther along on the bank of the Moskva is 
the great white Foundling Asylum, which — it will 
be recalled — was built by Catherine the Great. It 
is a state institution supported largely by a tax 
on playing cards. Babies are sent to it from all 
parts of European Russia. There is room for 
twenty-five hundred at a time. As many as fif- 
teen thousand are admitted annually. In some 
cases the mothers themselves act as nurses of 
their children in the hospital. Nearly one-half 
of the babies die ! At the end of four weeks the 
survivors are sent with their foster-mothers to 
board in adjacent farm-houses and villages. 
When they reach a proper age, they return to the 
Asylum and receive a very elementary education 
at the state's expense. Americans visiting this 
building are apt to raise the question whether 
such an institution improves the morals of the 
people. The answer given by Russians is char- 
acteristic, **Better looseness of morals than in- 
fanticide." 



Moscow — The Kremlin 135 

Across the Moskva from the Kremlin stands 
the Tretyakov Gallery. On this, after our disap- 
pointment in the Alexander III Museum at St. 
Petersburg, we had set our hopes of finding ex- 
amples of a true national art. The architectural 
treatment of the faqade was distinctly Russian, 
which seemed to us an auspicious beginning. We 
entered and were not long in perceiving that here 
the atmosphere was, not classic, but genuinely Rus- 
sian. The landscapes, the historical paintings, the 
genre scenes, were all truly national. 

When did this change in the trend of Russian 
art take place? For answer one must go back to 
the reign of Alexander II. Through his liberal 
policy, it will be remembered, the empire was 
awakened to a larger life. It was then that litera- 
ture burst the bonds of alien models and ventured, 
clumsily at first but with ever-growing confidence, 
to trudge along a wholly independent path. Then 
it was that art also felt the quickening impulse 
of the Spirit of Progress and began to give ex- 
pression to a new self-consciousness. It took root 
at last in a distinctly national soil. 

Forthwith there sprang up a cluster of artists 
who looked solely to Russia for their inspiration. 
Naturally they developed rapidly along the lines 
marked out by the radical literature of the time. 
The fruitage of this movement is seen in a series 
of paintings, inferior perhaps in drawing and 



136 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

technique, but powerful in their bitter arraign- 
ment of official oppression and social corruption. 

Of this School, which is well represented in the 
Tretyakov Gallery, Peroff is by far the strong- 
est. His pictures contain the most stinging at- 
tacks on the brutality of city police, and the drunk- 
enness of rural priests, such as one would hardly 
believe would be tolerated by the authorities of 
Russia. He was followed by Verestschagin, who. 
sought to be an Apostle of Peace by depicting 
the horrors of war. And in this he certainly suc- 
ceeded. Room after room in the Gallery is filled 
with his ghastly scenes of "Pyramids of Skulls," 
and corpses, and mangled soldiers writhing in 
agony on battlefields deserted by all else but wait- 
ing crows and ravens. 

Last of all came another group of artists known 
as "the Wanderers," who displayed barbaric 
originality and at the same time were not lacking 
in knowledge of technique. Of these, Repin is 
the most realistic. His "Ivan the Terrible," rep- 
resenting that savage monarch grovelling on the 
floor as he clasps the bleeding body of his son 
whom he has slain in a paroxysm of fury, is a 
picture that haunts one for days and weeks. 

One other painting by Repin is worth describ- 
ing as a true picture of Russian life. A room 
large and well-lighted. On its walls are hung a 
few photographs, some chromos, and a map. In 



Moscow — The Kremlin 137 

a corner to the right a piano, upon which a young 
woman is playing. At a table close by a boy and 
a girl are studying their lessons. In the fore- 
ground the mother is resting in an armchair. 
Suddenly the door at the back of the room is 
thrown open by a servant and a tall gaunt figure 
steals silently in. Now comes the moment de- 
picted by the artist. 

The young woman ceases to play, turns, and 
fixes her startled gaze upon the man. The girl 
looks up angrily at the intruder. The boy is sim- 
ply curious. The mother has risen from her chair 
and, bending forward, is searching the stranger's 
face. Can this, — can this be he for whom she 
has been yearning through the long, long years? 
The man stands there, thin, pale, worn with ex- 
posure and suffering, staring vacantly before him 
with hollow, set eyes. It is *'The Return of the 
Exile from Siberia," a typical portrayal of the 
patient, stolid melancholy that characterizes the 
Russian peasant. 

There is nothing conventional, nothing banal, 
in the pictures that hang in the Tretyakov Gal- 
lery. We left it convinced that Russian art, 
though still crude and undeveloped, is destined 
to display an individuality and forcefulness that is 
rarely exhibited in the art of other lands. 

From the Tretyakov Gallery, one ought to go 
forthwith to the Rumyantzov Museum, not to see 



138 Russia in the Summer of 1914 

the pictures (which are mediocre), but to deepen 
the impression received in the Gallery by inspect- 
ing the collection of national costumes In the Mu- 
seum. Here are figures, representing the inhabi- 
tants from every province of the empire, and the 
wide disparities they display In stature, features, 
and dress are well calculated to emphasize the 
vastness of its territory and the racial differences 
of its heterogeneous population. 

A long drive southwestward from the Museum 
brings us to the Novo Dyevitchi Convent. One 
does not readily associate a convent with battle- 
mented walls and fortified towers, but this nun- 
nery is amply equipped with both and was evi- 
dently constructed to sustain. If need be, a regular 
siege. And well it might, for it was the scene 
of bloody conflicts between the Poles and the army 
of MInin and Pozsharski. It was here that the 
ambitious Sophia was confined by her brother 
Peter, who — it will be remembered — hanged 
three hundred of the rebellious Streltsi in front 
of her window. This was also the convent in 
which Eudoxia, his first wife, was immured for 
more than twenty years. 

A mile farther on we cross the Moskva and 
climb the Sparrow Hills, commanding an exten- 
sive view of the winding river with the walls and 
towers of the city beyond. From these hilltops 
in 18 12 the French soldiers, catching sight of 
the goal toward which they had been wearily 




w S o 



Moscow — The Kremlin 139 

marching, shouted "Moscow! Moscow I" and 
Napoleon cried, "All this is yours I" But they 
little knew the temper of the Russian people. 
They marched into the city only to find it deso- 
late, deserted by its inhabitants. Napoleon made 
the Kremlin his headquarters, sleeping in one of 
the rooms in the Terem. Next morning he 
climbed the narrow stairway to reach a point from 
which he could look out upon the city. Moscow 
was wrapped in flames I One month later the dis- 
astrous retreat set in. Between the winter storms 
and the ceaseless attacks of the Cossack horse- 
men the splendid French army was almost an- 
nihilated and the Muscovites had their revenge ! 
In honor of their glorious victory over Na- 
poleon the citizens erected in Moscow a magnifi- 
cent cathedral, whose white marble walls and 
gilded domes are plainly visible from the Spar- 
row Hills. The Church of the Redeemer, as it is 
called, at once invites comparison with St. Isaac's 
Cathedral. They are alike in being constructed 
on the lines of the Greek cross, in their noble 
proportions, in the relation of the gilded central 
dome to the four belfries, and in the use of re- 
liefs and as decoration for the faqades. Here, how- 
ever, the resemblance ceases. St. Isaac's is pseudo- 
classical in style, the Church of the Redeemer is 
Russian. The material of the one is largely gran- 
ite, its color dark, while the material of the other 
is white marble. The one is entered by Greek 



140 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

porticoes, the other by round-arched portals. 
There are no statues of saints or angels on the 
Redeemer Church. Indeed, the only un-Russian 
feature about It is that the domes do not swell out 
in the orthodox bulbous shape, which to our mind 
does not constitute an improvement. 

The interior, though in reality somewhat 
smaller than St. Isaac's, appears to be much 
larger. In fact, aside from the mosque of St. 
Sophia In Constantinople, I know of no other 
church edifice that conveys so strong an Impression 
of spaciousness. This is perhaps due to the abun- 
dance of light that streams in through the windows 
and to the effect of the decoration in marble and 
gold. The victory of 1 8 1 2 Is commemorated by a 
series of tablets bearing the names of the officers 
that fell In the campaign. 

Moscow cannot boast of having many places 
reserved for out-of-door recreation. The only 
one of consequence is Petrovski Park in a suburb 
to the northwest. Its chief attractions consist of 
a small pond, a theater, and a number of cheap 
restaurants. The Petrovski Palace In the park is 
a curious red and white brick building, surrounded 
by a battlemented wall with towers, presenting an 
altogether fantastic appearance. In the neighbor- 
hood there Is a race course, which may account for 
the absence of any crowd in the park while we 
were there in the afternoon. 




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CHAPTER XV 

IMPRESSIONS OF MOSCOW 

ONE cannot but be impressed by the contrast 
Moscow presents to St. Petersburg. It is 
not cosmopolitan, nor even European; it is dis- 
tinctly Asiatic. Nor is this impression confined, 
as might be supposed, to the ancient Kremlin. 
The city abounds in narrow, tortuous streets with 
outrageous cobblestone pavement, over which the 
droschkies dash at break-neck speed to the evident 
discomfort of their occupants, not to speak of dan- 
ger to passing pedestrians. Now and again one 
is suddenly confronted by a high white wall, 
through which an arched passageway offers a nar- 
row but picturesque exit. 

The hieroglyphic shop signs along the main ave- 
nues are bound to rouse the keenest curiosity in a 
foreigner. He longs to decipher these strange in- 
scriptions, containing characters which recall the 
Greek alphabet he once studied in school, inter- 
spersed by cabalistic letters that are suggestive of 
the signs on Egyptian obelisks. The Russian al- 
phabet has been aptly styled an A B C in spasms I 
Its origin is interesting. 

141 



142 Rus'sia in the Summer of igi4 

In the year 863 two brothers, Cyril and Metho- 
dius, monks of Constantinople, went as mission- 
aries to the Slavonic tribes of Moravia. These 
people had no written language, and in order that 
they might have the Scriptures and the Liturgy 
in their native tongue, Cyril invented an alphabet 
for which he used the Greek letters, adding other 
characters when the Greek was insufficient to con- 
vey peculiar Slavonic sounds. Thus constituted, 
the Slavonic alphabet contained forty-eight char- 
acters, a number that was reduced by Peter the 
Great's decree to thirty-five. In honor of its in- 
ventor, it is now called the Cyrillian alphabet. 

The shop signs in the poorer sections of the 
city, however, are even more curious than those 
just mentioned. They are, or at least are designed 
to be, works of art, — paintings representing the 
particular line of goods on sale in each shop. For 
example, the ambitious grocer displays a brilliant 
picture of bread, butter, cheese, eggs, vegetables 
and fruits. The butcher-signs portray a pleasing 
variety of bulls, calves, pigs, poultry, ham, sau- 
sage, liver, caviar, and herring. Think of the 
possibilities here for an artist making a specialty 
of ^'still life" I The necessity for signs of this, 
sort is obviously due to the fact that the cus- 
tomers for the most part are unable to read. Ac- 
cording to the Russian Year Book for 19 16, out 
of every thousand inhabitants in European Rus- 




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Impressions of Moscow 143 

sia only twenty-three can read and write. More- 
over, the literate males are more than twice as 
many as the females, — and it is the latter that do 
the family shopping. Hence the picture signs! 

Another feature of Moscow that gives it an 
oriental aspect is the long lines of open air bazaars 
crowded with people bargaining for meats and 
vegetables and fruits, for bedding and clothing, 
for furniture and hardware, for concertinas and 
balalaikas, for toys and flashy jewelry, for icons 
and candles, and what not. At one point we came 
across a "thieves' market" in which only stolen 
articles are placed on sale ! 

In wandering about these markets and bazaars 
one sees many picturesque costumes. Tartar ven- 
ders of old clothes, Kalmuck and Circassian haw- 
kers, red-fezzed Greeks, long-robed Turks, mer- 
chants from Persia and China and Korea. Every- 
where conspicuous on the streets are the Orthodox 
priests, long-haired, full-bearded men wearing 
close-fitting cloaks with wide sleeves. A church 
procession I chanced to see was one long line of 
dazzling colors. First in the column appeared a 
host of sacred banners, on which were pictured 
scenes from the lives of Russian saints and mar- 
tyrs. Each banner was carried by three men, who 
at times fairly staggered in their efforts to keep 
it erect in the strong wind that was blowing. Next 
came the high clergy with curious crown-shaped 



144 Russia in the Summer of 19 14 

hats and brilliantly embroidered chasubles on 
which Greek crosses, large and small, were plainly 
discernible. These were followed by the lower 
dignitaries, and they in turn by a legion of priests 
and choristers. It was an impressive sight, one 
that was viewed by the bystanders with that out- 
ward reverence which is always accorded to things 
religious by the Russians. 

And yet in spite of the brilliant coloring of 
Moscow's walls and shrines and costumes, close 
contact with its inhabitants produces a depressing 
effect upon the thoughtful traveler. This we 
thought was due to the evidences of poverty on 
every side. The crowds of sad-eyed, half-starved 
men, women and children that swarmed out of 
the factories at the end of the day's work was 
anything but a cheerful sight. It was not so much 
their shabby clothing, — it was the lack of alertness 
and intelligence, the look of settled gloom and 
often of patient suffering written deep in their fea- 
tures. Even the children were stolid and showed 
no signs of playfulness or gaiety. 

The evil effects of vodka drinking on the poorer 
classes were to be seen constantly. In a walk of 
little more than an hour I counted as many as 
thirty-four men who were under its influence. As 
far as our observations went there were two 
stages in the process of getting drunk. The first 
might be called "the amorous stage." Men who 



Impressions of Moscow 145 

have swallowed a pint of vodka begin to embrace 
and kiss each other in a very silly fashion. But 
soon the poison gets in its real work. Then comes 
complete and sudden collapse and the victims fall 
unconscious to the ground. Nobody appeared to 
be concerned about these poor wretches. The 
idea seems to be that they might as well remain 
where they fall until they have slept off the effects. 

The non-existence of the so-called bourgeois 
class is very noticeable in Moscow. There are the 
well-to-do, who ride in droschkies and dine and 
wine at luxurious restaurants. And there are the 
proletarians, who work and walk, and who gather 
by the hundreds In the smoke-filled cafes to eat 
bread and sausages and to drink kvass, beer and 
vodka. But the great gulf between these two is not 
bridged, as in other countries, by the middle class, 
who live comfortably on moderate incomes and 
by their thrift and ijijustry become owners of a 
little property. This was precisely the situation 
in France before the Revolution. The inevitable 
struggle between the two classes is fraught with 
the same frightful possibilities. 

Accompanied by a friend, I went one evening to 
the Hermitage. It is a concert garden on an ex- 
tensive scale with scenic railways, movies, and 
side-shows of every description, resembling Coney 
Island, or the Tivoli in Copenhagen. Seeing a 
nice-appearing colored man, and supposing that 



14^ Russia in the Summer of igi4 

he was an employee, we stopped to make some 
inquiries about the evening entertainment. When 
he found that we were struck with the excellent 
management of the place, he became quite com- 
municative and at length modestly admitted that 
he was the proprietor! He had worked his way 
up from being a common waiter to the head- 
waitership, and on the death of the previous man- 
ager had assumed his place. It was evidently a 
genuine pleasure to him to converse with Ameri- 
cans, and he ended by giving us free passes to the 
entertainment and Instructing an usher to show us 
to the best seats. 

The performance took place in a covered struc- 
ture open at the sides with a stage at one end. 
The vaudeville acts were excellent, though of 
course we missed the point of the jokes that 
greatly amused the crowd. But our turn was to 
come I One of the performers was a lean and 
lanky individual, whose stunt was to increase his 
stature by eight inches visibly before the audience. 
He was evidently unacquainted with the Russian 
language, and was compelled to stand for some 
time, while an attendant eloquently made an- 
nouncement of his extraordinary task. Then he 
took matters In his own hands, and to our Infinite 
surprise and amusement accompanied his wrig- 
gling upward with a running commentary in Eng- 
lish! His ejaculations, his slang expressions, and 



Impressions of Moscow 147 

his humorous remarks about persons in the audi- 
ence were characteristically droll, and we had no 
difficulty In identifying him as an American. 
Needless to say, he rose to the emergency and 
proved himself a star performer I 

Our colored friend had told us that all this was 
only a preliminary, and had urged us to remain 
for the main performance, which began at mid- 
night. That, he said, was the regular time for 
the commencement of all real Russian amuse- 
ments. We took his advice. The later perform- 
ance was held In a separate building completely 
covered. This was also provided with a stage, 
but the audience room was filled, not with seats, 
but with small tables at which meals were served. 
The entertainment consisted chiefly of ballet 
dancing, in which we could detect no marked su- 
periority over similar dancing In the United States. 

We stayed until two o'clock, at which time there 
were as yet no signs of a near end to the festivi- 
ties. Greatly to our disgust, when we went out 
we found that there were no droschkles that were 
disengaged and we were forced to walk back to 
the hotel. As we approached it, having gone a 
little out of our way, we passed the Iberian 
Chapel, and noticed that even at that late hour 
the platform outside the door was filled with 
women muffled in shawls, prostrating themselves 
before the sacred shrine. 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE RUSSIAN PEASANT 

NO one with the instinct of a true traveler is 
content to limit his explorations to cities. 
He is equally interested to learn something of 
country life. This is especially desirable in Rus- 
sia where the peasants constitute fully eighty per 
cent, of the population. I was very anxious to 
visit a Russian village and to corroborate or dis- 
prove with my own eyes what I had read concern- 
ing the Russian peasantry. I urged Grundy to 
take me out in the country, but he was altogether 
obdurate. "What do you want to see a village 
for?" he said. "There is nothing there but filth 
and squalor." However, I was determined to go, 
and finally decided to venture alone. 

With my passport and my Baedeker I set out 
one morning and took the train for the Troitz- 
kaya Monastery, about forty miles distant from 
Moscow. Arriving at the station, I astonished 
the droschky drivers by declining their services 
and started on foot toward the buildings, which 
were not more than half a mile away. 

The monastery was founded by the Abbot Ser- 

148 



The Russian Peasant 149 

gius in the year 1340. Not long after his death 
in 1392 it was attacked and destroyed by a horde 
of Tartars, but the body of St. Sergius was found 
uninjured in the smoking ruins of the convent. 
This miracle led to the annual pilgrimage of thou- 
sands to the saint's shrine. In the i6th century 
the monastery, which had grown enormously 
wealthy through the gifts of the pilgrims, was 
fortified by a strong wall, enabling it to withstand 
the fiercest attacks of the Poles in the time of the 
False Pretenders. It was to this monastery that 
Peter fled so ignominiously on hearing that the 
Streltsi were planning to murder him in his bed. 

The view as I approached the Troitzkaya 
Laura was one to delight the soul of an artist. A 
battlemented white wall pierced in the center by a 
low arch, from which rose a tower ending in a 
gilded dome and cross. To the right and left of 
the arch low wooden booths. Farther to the right 
a second archway, some droschkies, and then a 
row of trees. A monk was standing near the cen- 
ter gate conversing with a stranger. Here and 
there a pilgrim trading at the booths. In the back- 
ground, looming up behind the wall, white and 
gilded domes and in the distance a tall belfry. 

Entering the grounds through "the holy gate," 
one finds a variety of buildings : a dozen churches, 
the oflicials' residences, the monks' cells, a refec- 
tory, a bakery, a hospital, an almshouse, a treas- 



150 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

ury, a library, and a theological academy. Sev- 
eral of the buildings were curiously decorated out- 
side with facets and the shell-shaped arch. Most 
of them were garishly painted. The Trinity Ca- 
thedral contains a rich silver shrine, where the 
relics of St. Sergius rest. In the center of the 
grounds are a holy fountain and an obelisk. The 
treasury and the library were closed for the time 
being to visitors and my efforts to obtain special 
permission to enter were unavailing. Outside the 
wall there were several large hotels for the enter- 
tainment of pilgrims, who still come In great num- 
bers to visit the famous Laura. 

"But," says some one, ''you started out to see 
a village and visited a monastery instead!" Pa- 
tience, gentle reader. Such a deep laid scheme as 
mine must have time to unfold itself. 

I returned to the station and was again quickly 
surrounded by clamorous droschky drivers. I ex- 
perimented on them with choice guide-book 
phrases in half a dozen languages but did not 
evoke an intelligent reply. 

Among the stolid faces — growing more and 
more stupid as a result of my polyglot attacks — 
I noticed a youth with a comparatively alert ex- 
pression, whose eyes twinkled with an evident 
sense of humor at the situation. Opening my 
Baedeker, I pointed out and read to him a pas- 
sage stating that an Izvostschik (droschky) from 




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The Russian Peasant i^i 

the station to the two neighboring monasteries of 
Jerusalem and Bethany cost one and a half rubles. 
Then I repeated the words "Jerusalem" and 
"Bethany" with tremendous emphasis and showed 
him the money in silver pieces. He nodded at 
once and led me to his carriage, and we were soon 
trotting along serenely on a fairly good country 
road. 

According to the Baedeker the Jerusalem Her- 
mitage was one and a half miles east of the 
Troitzkaya Laura. We had gone about half that 
distance when I noticed a village about a mile to 
the left. Presently we came in sight of a road 
leading in that direction. Here was the oppor- 
tunity I was looking fori Poking the driver in 
the back, I signed to him to take the crossroad. 
He shook his head vehemently. "That is not the 
way to Jerusalem. This is the right road," he 
seemed to say. I insisted, and counted out three 
shining rubles. The silver pieces won the day I 

The crossroad, which we now took, was narrow 
and had ruts nearly a foot deep. We drove down 
into a gully and narrowly escaped upsetting. 
Then we began to climb the hill. The peasants 
we saw were at work harvesting. Many of them 
looked curiously at the droschky, wondering per- 
haps whether it meant a call from the tax gatherer 
or some other government official. A thunder- 



152 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

storm seemed to be imminent, and some of them 
started homeward. 

Soon we reached the village. It consisted of 
one wide street with ten or twelve houses on each 
side of it. The houses were one-storied wooden 
structures, each standing in its own yard, sep- 
arated by about thirty feet from the adjoining 
dwellings. The space fronting on the street was 
adorned with a large and fragrant manure heap. 
At the far end of the street 1 could see a good- 
sized church and grave-yard. Not a soul was to 
be seen, not even a dog. Pigs and chickens were 
the only denizens of the place. 

Somewhat at a loss what to do, I left the 
droschky and occupied a few minutes wandering 
among the tombstones (the church was closed). 
When I returned the muzhiks were pouring in 
from the fields, all bare-headed and bare-footed. 
The men had tangled hair and frowzy beards. 
They wore colored cotton shirts hanging loose, 
with baggy trousers. Many of them had their 
boots in their hands. The women wore dark 
dresses with occasionally colored waists. The 
children were ragged and dirty. The whole troop 
gathered round me and stared at me in silence. 

I walked toward a house and made as if to 
enter. A man, evidently the owner, approached 
and looked stupidly at me. The copecks I drew 



The Russian Peasant 153 

out of my pocket and the signs I made brought no 
ray of Intelligence to his face. 

At this critical juncture my faithful chariot- 
driver, who had grasped the situation, stepped up 
and explained matters. The money I proffered 
was accepted, the door was thrown open, and the 
muzhik and I went in, followed by a woman, who 
I inferred was the mistress of the domicile. 

The room we entered was about twenty feet 
square. It was lighted by one glass window with 
small panes. A rough wooden bench ran the 
whole length of the side. There was no furniture 
whatever, no table, no chairs, not even the famous 
Russian stove, on top of which grandfathers and 
babies are said to be kept warm in winter. 

In one corner something like a rough bale of 
cloth caught my eye. When drawn out and un- 
rolled, it proved to be a thick comfortable about 
twelve feet square. I bent my head and closed 
my eyes, as If to sleep. The woman fathomed 
the gesture and nodded. I asked, "How many?'* 
raising first two fingers, then three. She at once 
spread out ^vt fingers of one hand. This, then, 
was the bed for a family of ^Yt \ 

I passed on to another smaller room. It was 
the kitchen, containing a range with split wood 
for use close by. In a rack on the wall were three 
large loaves of black bread, some knives and 
spoons. 



154 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

Returning to the living room, I noticed a door 
in the side opposite the entrance and started 
toward it. The man stopped me and evidently 
objected to any advance in that direction. I in- 
sisted, and finally won my point. The door 
opened directly upon the cattle shed. The floor 
was knee-deep with filthy straw fairly steaming 
with a noisome animal stench. I thanked the 
couple for their hospitality, gave them some more 
copecks, and proceeded to an adjoining cottage. 

This time my purpose seemed to be fully under- 
stood and the proud owners were very willing to 
exhibit their home to me. The parlor was occu- 
pied by several hens, which were promptly shoo-ed 
out by their outraged mistress. Here there was 
an extra apartment, a bedroom with a rough bed, 
on which there was a straw mattress. In entering 
1 this room, I stumbled over a man who was lying 
on the floor, dead drunk from vodka. In other 
respects, the second house was practically the 
counterpart of the first. 

When I regained the street, I was given to 
understand that still other houses might be opened 
for inspection. But I had seen enough I Grundy 
was right! "Nothing but filth and squalor.'* I 
jumped in the droschky, made the round of Jeru- 
salem and Bethany (which I will not stop to de- 
scribe), and returned to Moscow, somewhat de- 
pressed in spirit. 




Bearded Muzhiks, barefoot with boots slung over their 
shoulders, 80% of the population. For the most part grimly- 
passive, but at times ugly and cruel. Their poverty, illiteracy 
and apathy constitute a most serious problem for the empire. 



The Russian Peasant 155 

In conversing with cultured Russians hereto- 
fore, I had often been astounded at the pessimism 
they showed with regard to the immediate future 
of their country. Their despondency was due in- 1 
variably to their intimate knowledge of the \ 
wretched conditions that oppressed the muzhiks, f 
Now that I had seen a Russian village, I could 
better appreciate their feelings. The illiteracy of 
the peasants with no serious effort for their educa-| 
tion on the part of the government, their super-J 
stition and merely outward reverence for thel 
pomp and ceremony of a church that can neither | 
develop spirituality nor even restrain them fromj 
intemperance and licentiousness, their utter apathy j 
concerning all measures of self-improvement, 
their poverty and filth, — ^^these things combined 
with burdensome taxes and a system of land- 
tenure inherited from the Dark Ages, make their 
conditions hopeless in the eyes of educated Rus- 
sians. **If only they were in the minority," say 
they, **but they constitute four-fifths of our popu- 
lation I What chance is there of leavening such a 
lump in less than a century or two?'' 

It is indeed a diflicult problem. And yet there 
is ground for encouragement in the experience of 
the United States with Russian immigrants. The 
children of just such stupid peasants under the 
stimulus of good instruction and bright compan-? 
ions soon awaken out of their lethargy and show 



156 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

that they are by no means lacking in ability. 
There is reason to believe that the establishment 
of a public school system like our own in Russia 
would produce marvelous results within a single 
generation. It is to be hoped that the government 
will soon take measures for instituting and carry- 
ing on such a system throughout the empire. 



CHAPTER XVII 

RIOTS IN MOSCOW AND ST. PETERSBURG 

FOUR days had been spent by us In seeing 
the sights of Moscow. During this time 
conditions in the city grew more and more dis- 
turbed. All trains running to Warsaw were re- 
served for the troops. On Thursday an English- 
man told me that he had just come from Warsaw, 
but only by dint of forcing himself Into a coupe 
filled with officers when the train was in motion. 
In the melee at the station he had lost both his 
trunk and his suitcase, but was lucky to reach 
Moscow at all. Obviously we were blocked in 
that direction. 

In this predicament I made bold to solicit the 
advice of the American Consul. He was an af- 
fable gentleman, whose conception of the situa- 
tion was distinctly encouraging. "Taking every- 
thing Into consideration," he said, "I am con- 
vinced that it is a gigantic bluff on both sides I 
Wait a day or two. The war-cloud will lift, and 
you will go merrily on your way." 

On Friday, however, matters looked serious. 
Mobs carrying flags and banners gathered on the 

157 



158 Russia in the Summer of 19 14 

squares and paraded through the streets, shouting 
and singing the national hymn. All the German 
shops and cafes along their line of march were 
wrecked. 

Under these circumstances It was evidently ad- 
visable to steer clear of the riotous crowds. At 
midnight I happened to step out of the hotel to 
mail a letter and heard sounds that indicated the 
approach of a mob along a street not far off. 
Curiosity and a spirit of adventure got the better 
of my judgment. I ran to the street, a tolerably 
wide thoroughfare, and standing in the shadow 
of a dark building, I was sure I could see without 
being seen. 

In a few moments the mob came In sight. It 
was made up of about forty young roughs, who 
were marching four abreast in the middle of the 
street. One-half of them had already passed by, 
when suddenly there was a shout, a sharp com- 
mand, and in an instant the column faced to the 
right, advanced to within ten feet of me, and then 
halted. "Hurrah for Russkil" they yelled, and 
I promptly and enthusiastically shouted, "Hurrah 
for Russkil" 

That did not seem, however, to meet the de- 
mand, for they continued their ululations and 
glared fiercely at me. It looked as though I were 
In for a severe drubbing at the very least. The 
only possible chance for escape was to break 



Riots in Moscow and St. Petersburg 159 

through the line on the right where it was thin- 
nest. I braced myself with the thought that after 
all this was no more formidable than many a col- 
lege football line through which I had dashed 
toward the goal posts. 

Just at this moment, by some subtle suggestion 
for which I have never bee^;i able to account, a 
different idea flashed into my mind. I lifted my 
hat, swung it around my head, and cried, "Hurrah 
for Russki I" 

The effect was magical I Nodding and grin- 
ning, the men faced about, returned to the middle 
of the street, and resumed their noisy march, leav- 
ing me overwhelmed with surprise at the sudden 
turn in the situation. Next day I learned that 
similar mobs had compelled all the foreigners 
they met to doff their hats, not even allowing oc- 
cupants of droschkies to pass without making this 
sign of respect for "Russki." 

Saturday went by amid scenes of rioting and 
confusion. Sunday morning on my way down to 
breakfast I was haled with triumphant satisfac- 
tion by the Portier, who had long been predicting 
the outbreak of war. "What did I tell you?" said 
he. "Germany has declared war on Russia 1" It 
was too true I All the papers confirmed the re- 
port I 

Passenger trains were still running at irregular 



i6o Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

intervals to St. Petersburg. Was it wiser to go 
there or to stay in Moscow? 

The manager of the Metropole was kindness 
itself. "You will be safer here," he said. "Within 
a few days the Tsar and his suite will come to 
Moscow and will occupy apartments in this hotel. 
That will ensure your safety." 

"But we shall soon be out of funds," I said. 

"That makes no difference. In war-time we are 
bound to take care of our guests. We will trust 
you to reimburse us later." 

I thanked him sincerely, but doubted the wis- 
dom of his advice. Grundy counselled immediate 
return to St. Petersburg. There were many 
Americans and English still in that city, and in 
company with them we would be reasonably sure 
of getting the government to aid us on our farther 
journey. 

This seemed the more sensible plan. I went to 
the office of the International Sleeping Car Com- 
pany and bought tickets for the night train with 
berths in the sleeper. The agent would not guar- 
antee the departure of the train; we simply had 
to take our chances. I then telegraphed for rooms 
at the Astoria Hotel, mentioning the time we 
might be expected to arrive. That evening with 
Grundy's assistance we got safely aboard our 
train and started for St. Petersburg. 

As we approached the city next morning, a dis- 



Riots in Moscow and St. Petersburg i6i 

cussion arose among us as to whether it was wise 
to go to the Astoria in view of its German man- 
agement. Would it not be better to room at the 
Hotel de I'Europe, an old and well established 
house, which for many years had enjoyed the ex- 
clusive patronage of English and American trav- 
elers? Finally we decided to leave it to fate. If 
the runner from the Astoria Hotel met us at the 
station with carriages we should return there; 
otherwise we should go to the Hotel de FEurope. 

When we arrived, the faithful runner was on 
hand and bore us off with him to the Astoria. 
But that hotel in our absence had undergone a 
cataclysmic change ! The German manager war 
gegangen, ja ! and in his stead a courteous French- 
man came out to bid us welcome ! The waiters 
had suddenly been metamorphosed and could only 
"speek French, si vous plait," though even we 
could detect a strong accent in their French! In 
a word the hotel was now under French manage- 
ment, and we were well content to remain there. 

St. Petersburg we found was quite as much in 
turmoil as Moscow had been. The steady tramp 
of soldiers could be heard at all hours of the day 
and night. Looking out from the hotel to the 
left, one could see the monument of Nicholas I 
in Marie Square. Here the regiments often 
halted to receive a blessing at the hands of a 
priest and bid a long farewell to their wives and 



1 62 Russia in the Summer of JQ14 

children, who were allowed to accompany them 
thus far. It was a pitiful sight! 

Monster meetings were held in many of the 
squares and parks, and excited crowds were 
stirred to acts of reprisal by the recital of German 
outrages. Riotous mobs swept through the 
streets, breaking the windows and destroying the 
goods of German stores. All this was evidently 
done with the tacit approval of the authorities, 
for no one doubted that the government could put 
a stop to the rioting if it chose to exercise its 
power. 

Friends of ours, who had been in St. Petersburg 
during our absence, told us of an impressive scene 
they had witnessed in Alexander Place before the 
Winter Palace. An enormous multitude gathered 
there one day, filling the square from end to end. 
Presently the doors of a balcony in the palace 
were thrown open, and the Tsar accompanied by 
the Tsarina and Tsarewitch appeared. With one 
accord the people fell on their knees and remained 
in this posture of reverence while the "Little 
Father" addressed them in a short speech. Then 
their Majesties retired into the palace, and the 
people rose and departed in silence. 

Monday, the 3rd of August, the day on which 
we returned to St. Petersburg, was the Saint's Day 
of the Dowager Empress. She had been in Ger- 
many when war was declared on Russia. It was 



Riots in Moscow and St. Petersburg 163 

now rumored that she had been treated most in- 
sultingly by the Germans. Towards evening the 
air grew tense with excitement. Across the square, 
directly opposite the Astoria, was the newly fin- 
ished German Embassy, a huge three-storied 
building. On its roof stood a bronze group, two 
immense horses with the figure of a man on each 
side of them, resembling the famous "Horse 
Tamers" in Rome. These, it was said, were the 
personal gift of the Emperor of Germany to the 
Tsar. 

About eight o'clock Monday evening a vast 
crowd surged into the square bent on mischief. 
Presently a cobblestone torn from the street pave- 
ment went crashing through a window of the Em- 
bassy, then another and another, until every win- 
dow was shattered. A squad of mounted police 
appeared and pretended to drive back the crowd, 
but that it was mere pretense was clear from the 
fact that they simply urged their way through the 
people several times and then disappeared, leav- 
ing the crowd to go on with the work of destruc- 
tion. 

An entrance was forced in the rear of the build- 
ing. The lights were turned on. We could see 
men rushing from room to room, breaking the 
furniture and throwing the pieces out of the win- 
dows, together with the pictures and curtains. All 
this the crowd collected and with it started bon- 



164 Russia in the Summer of 1914 

fires. Meanwhile another squad of rioters at- 
tacked the bronze group on the roof. They suc- 
ceeded in hurling the figures of the men to the 
ground, but failed to uproot the horses. 

It was now ten o'clock and the city authorities 
saw fit to stop the proceedings. A lumbering fire 
engine made its appearance, attached its hose to a 
hydrant, and played streams of water on the 
crowd. This proved very effective and the sack- 
ing of the Embassy came to a sudden end. 

The attack on the German Legation caused no 
little alarm among the guests of the Astoria, who 
had watched it from their windows. It inevitably 
suggested the possibility of a similar assault on 
our hotel, for the fact that it was owned and di- 
rected by Germans was no secret and the sudden 
change of administration was of course mere 
camouflage. Would it be our turn next? I am 
free to confess that before retiring, in order to 
provide a way of retreat for ourselves, I quietly 
stole down the back stairs reserved for the use 
of servants, and made note of a means of exit to 
the street in the rear of the hotel. In case of an 
attack there might be at least a chance for us to 
escape in that direction. 

Shortly after midnight I heard the now familiar 
shouting and singing once more, but it seemed to 
be confined to the adjacent streets. Growing rest- 
less, I rose at two o'clock, dressed, and went down 



Riots in Moscow and St. Petersburg 165 

to the main floor. A woman was excitedly telling 
the clerk in French about the murder of the care- 
taker in the Embassy a short time before. I 
stepped out of the entrance and found that a num- 
ber of policemen were stationed in front of the 
hotel. It was clear then that our fears were 
shared by the city authorities. However, there 
was no crowd in the square, and I went back to 
bed feeling somewhat reassured, now that I had 
seen that we were actually under police protec- 
tion. 

Next morning placards were posted forbidding 
citizens to gather in crowds anywhere within city 
limits. The government had come to the con- 
clusion that the patriotism of the people had been 
sufficiently roused to ensure their hearty support 
of the war, and that therefore there was no need 
of further popular demonstrations. This authori- 
tative action put a complete quietus on the riotous 
element in the city and there were no more scenes 
of mob violence such as we had witnessed. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

EFFORTS TO ESCAPE FROM ST. PETERSBURG 

ON our arrival in St. Petersburg we had not 
been slow to inquire about our chance of 
getting out of the city. The American Embassy, 
to which we first went, was filled with anxious 
Americans and Germans. The latter had been 
placed under the protection of the United States 
as a neutral country immediately after the declara- 
tion of war between Germany and Russia. Most 
of the Germans we saw at the Embassy were in a 
condition bordering on hysteria. They were in a 
bad plight, for they had either lost their property 
or the business it had taken them years to build 
up, and — worse than that — their lives were in 
danger. The post of the American Ambassador 
was temporarily vacant, but we were told by the 
Consul that every effort was being made to secure 
safe passage for the Americans into a neutral 
country. 

Three possible routes were suggested to us: 
One across European Russia and Siberia to the 
Pacific coast; a second by way of Archangel and 
the North Cape to Bergen or London; a third 

i66 



Efforts to Escape from St. Petersburg 167 

round the Gulf of Bothnia to Stockholm. The 
last seemed the most feasible. The Russian gov- 
ernment interposed no objection to our going by 
any of these routes, but wished it to be distinctly 
understood that we would go on our own responsi- 
bility. 

The American Consul had combined with the 
English Ambassador in petitioning the Russian 
government to provide a special train which 
should convey the four or five hundred English 
and Americans in St. Petersburg to Torne^ at 
the head of the Gulf of Bothnia. At the same 
time they sent a request to the Swedish authori- 
ties for transportation from Tornea through Swe- 
den to Stockholm. Both Embassies had assur- 
ance that the proposition would receive distin- 
guished consideration at the hands of the Russian 
government, and that the decision in regard to it 
would be announced at the earliest possible mo- 
ment. We called at the British Embassy and 
were advised to wait for the special government 
train, which — it was expected — would start for 
Tornea in a few days. Under the circumstances 
we decided to wait for further developments. 

Tuesday and Wednesday dragged by with in- 
tolerable slowness. Notwithstanding the fact 
that we were perfectly comfortable in our quar- 
ters, we felt that we were prisoners in a foreign 
land. Moreover our funds were running low. 



1 68 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

Telegrams to friends in America brought no re- 
sponse. 

On Wednesday I went to the great banking 
house, the Credit Lyonnais, and cashed my last 
American Express checks. While thus engaged, 
I explained our situation to the sub-manager, who 
was most sympathetic. I even had the audacity 
to ask if I could obtain a loan of $i,ooo from the 
bank I To my utter surprise, he excused himself, 
and in a few minutes returned with one of the 
bank directors, Monsieur Daniel V. Jequier. The 
latter, addressing me in faultless English, asked 
me what I wanted. I set forth the awkwardness 
of our situation with all the eloquence I could 
command. He heard me through and remarking 
that after all we were not so badly off as some 
foreigners, cited the case of a rich Munich 
countess, who was worth 1,600,000 marks at 
home, but was stranded in St. Petersburg with 
but 800 rubles in her possession. Then he in- 
quired if I had telegraphed for money. I told 
him I had done so repeatedly, but had received 
no reply. 

"Well,'* said he, "we have been able to com- 
municate with banking houses in America. Sup- 
pose you let us telegraph for you." 

I grasped at the chance, and left the bank as- 
sured that a telegram was on its way to Brown 



E forts to Escape from St. Petersburg 169 

Brothers in Philadelphia, to which a reply might 
be expected on Friday. 

Meanwhile the Russian espionage system was 
secretly at work in the hotel. Among the guests 
were two American ladies, sisters^ — one of whom 
had married a German baron, and having resided 
for many years In Germany, was provided with a 
German passport. Her sister, however, had a 
passport issued by the United States government. 
The Baroness fell under the suspicion of the Rus- 
sian secret service. 

At three o'clock one morning the ladles were 
awakened and ordered to come down stairs. 
There they were led to a special room, where sev- 
eral agents put them through an inquisition last- 
ing two hours. There was no physical violence 
offered, but the brutal manner of the agents, their 
threats, and their persistence In regarding them 
as German spies, completely exhausted and un- 
nerved the ladies. This they told me In confidence 
and tearfully implored me to aid them in case 
they were arrested. 

That there was ground for their apprehension 
was clear from what I myself saw and heard on 
the very next night. At three A. M. I was awak- 
ened by a loud knock at the door of my room. 
On opening it I was confronted by two officers. 
They had with them a girl, who from her cloth- 
ing and appearance I judged was a servant. One 



1 70 Russia in the Summer of 19 14 

of the officers, speaking In German, asked me 
what the number of my room was. I told him, 
whereupon he knocked at the door of the adjoin- 
ing room. A woman's voice answered from 
within. An imperative summons from the officer 
was followed by a feeble protest against being 
roused at this time of the night. 

Finally the door was opened and a vigorous 
conversation ensued, coming to an end with a 
command that the woman should dress imme- 
diately. This she did in the presence of the serv- 
ant, who was sent into the room to watch her, 
for fear, I suppose, that she might have prepared 
some means of escape from the window or might 
even throw herself out, preferring death to im- 
prisonment or exile. It took some time for her 
to get ready, but finally the door opened, and the 
last thing I heard was the footsteps of the four 
persons as they passed along the hall on the way 
to the staircase. 

Next morning I learned that the woman was 
suspected of having been connected in some way 
with the German Legation. I was also told that 
the investigation of suspected spies took place 
regularly between three and six in the morning in 
certain rooms on the ground floor of the hotel. 

I did not fail to call at the American Embassy 
every day to inquire about the special train, but 
received only the most indefinite promises. Grad- 



Efforts to Escape from St, Petersburg 171 

ually the conclusion was forced upon us that the 
Russian government was too much occupied with 
the preparations for war to concern itself, for the 
time being at least, with the handful of English 
and Americans in St. Petersburg. This was also 
the opinion of many persons at the hotel, and it 
resulted in the departure each day of a few who 
decided to try the third route on their own respon- 
sibility. Naturally those who remained grew 
more and more restless. 

Occasionally we met and conversed with one 
and another who had just arrived in the city after 
journeying around the Gulf of Bothnia in the re- 
verse direction. Their experiences were invari- 
ably thrilling! The trip, which normally took 
two or three days, could not now be made in less 
than eight. At the head of the Gulf there was a 
stretch of about fifty miles where there was no 
railroad, and they had to resort to passage by 
boat or transportation across country in rough 
conveyances. They had been half starved. They 
had lost their baggage. All the passenger coaches 
In the trains leaving Tornel were crowded with 
soldiers, and they had been compelled to stand 
for hours — or even days^ — In freight cars, packed 
to suffocation. Such were some of the harrowing 
tales they related for our benefit. Nevertheless 
if our party had consisted only of men we should 
have made the venture. But to expose women to 



172 Russia in the Summer of igi^ 

such experiences seemed out of the question, even 
though they were willing and eager to brave any 
peril in an attempt to proceed homeward. 

At length inaction became intolerable. On 
Friday, accompanied by a friend, I went to the 
Consul, determined this time to pin him down to 
actualities. He was as evasive as an eel. "The 
Russian government assured him,'* etc., etc. It 
was the same old story I We were about to leave 
in despair of any likelihood that he could accom- 
plish anything, — when at that very moment a tele- 
phone bell rang and he excused himself to answer 
it. Returning, he smilingly said that he had just 
heard of an entirely new route that had been 
opened to us. Small passenger steamers were now 
crossing the lower end of the Gulf. By journey- 
ing through Finland and then availing ourselves 
of these steamers we might get safely to a point 
in Sweden about fifty miles from Stockholm. 

"But," we interposed, "the Gulf has been 
mined!" 

"That is true," he replied. "It would be well 
to wait a day or two to make sure that the boats 
can cross with safety. The passage does not take 
long, only about twelve hours." We were not 
quite as enthusiastic as was the Consul over this 
proposal that we should cross a mine-strewn gulf, 
but we could appreciate his point of view. The 
new route had one great advantage over the three 



E forts to Escape from St. Petersburg 173 

previously mentioned, viz., the suspense would be 
over In twelve hours — or less I We thanked him 
and left the office, encouraged by even this small 
ray of hope. 

That afternoon I received a note from the 
Credit Lyonnais, stating that a reply to the tele- 
gram to Philadelphia had arrived and requesting 
me to call at the bank on Saturday. I went next 
morning and had a most satisfactory Interview 
with M. Jequier. 

"I have been directed by Brown Brothers to 
pay you the equivalent of $1,000 In Russian 
rubles. Be here at ten o'clock to-morrow morn- 
ing. We will then complete the transaction." 

The Saturday and Sunday newspapers in- 
creased our hope in the new route. They re- 
ported that steamers had crossed the Gulf safely 
in both directions. We now resolved to take our 
chances on them. 

On Sunday I presented myself promptly at the 
Credit Lyonnais. Both the sub-manager and M. 
Jequier met me to fulfill their promise. The ex- 
change on American dollars was practically the 
same as it had been before we left Moscow. I 
was delighted. In view of our need of Swedish 
money after leaving Russia I asked whether it 
would be possible for them to give me say $300 
out of the $1,000 In Swedish currency. At this 
request I noticed that the two gentlemen glanced 



174 Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

quickly at each other. Surmising the reason, I 
immediately asked if the exchange between Rus- 
sia and Sweden had fallen. 

"Indeed it has !" answered M. Jequier. "It has 
fallen 25 per cent, since war was declared, and it 
will be still lower when you arrive in Stockholm." 

"That means," said I, "that the $1,000 is worth 
only $750?" 

"Precisely," was the reply. 

I was greatly disturbed, and sat mute and per- 
plexed for several minutes. M. Jequier saw that 
I was keenly disappointed. Then he made a 
proposition, which I believe is unprecedented in 
the proceedings of a bank. 

"Have you money enough without this $1,000 
to carry you as far as Stockholm?" he asked. 

"I think we can scrape together enough for 
that." 

"Well, then," he said, "let me cancel these pro- 
ceedings entirely. I will give you a note on a 
bank in Christiania, by means of which you can 
get your $1,000 there with hardly any loss by 
exchange." 

I cannot describe my feelings. Here was an 
utter stranger, who was ready to put aside the 
accepted rules of business and cancel an already 
accomplished transaction for mere humanity's 
sakel I expressed my thanks to him fervently 



Efforts to Escape from St. Petersburg 175 

though in entirely inadequate language, and left 
the bank deeply touched by so rare an exhibition 
of human kindness. The promised note was 
handed to me at the hotel late that evening. 



CHAPTER XIX 

FLIGHT FROM ST. PETERSBURG 

MEANWHILE we had learned that a 
large party of Americans at the Hotel de 
TEurope were planning like ourselves to try the 
new route on Monday morning. We asked if we 
might join the party, but received no encourage- 
ment. We knew, however, that the train we pro- 
posed to take was in no sense a special and that 
we had as good a right on it as any foreigners, 
so we bought tickets at the Finland Station and 
requested the agent to reserve seats for us in a 
sleeper if it were possible. This he promised to 
do, but he doubted if we could buy meals at the 
regular railroad restaurants on the way. To 
meet this emergency each one of us provided him- 
self with a bottle or two of water and enough 
food to last on a pinch for two days. Having 
made all possible preparations for a hard trip, 
we retired early in order to get a good night's 
rest before a journey that we knew would try our 
nerves and strength to the utmost. 

Our train was scheduled to depart at nine next 
morning. The hotel runner, in whom we from 

176 



Flight from St. Petersburg 177 

past experience had entire confidence, advised us 
to be at the station two hours before that time. 
Accordingly we had an early breakfast and left 
the hotel at about seven. 

When we reached the station, we found that 
quite a number of would-be passengers, mostly 
Germans, were already on hand. Leaving our 
trunks to be attended to by the runner, we took 
our position as near as possible to the gate lead- 
ing to the platform. Here we stood for more 
than an hour, during which there were constantly 
fresh accessions to the crowd around us. 

Then the runner, who was on the alert, noticed 
that the party from the Hotel de I'Europe were 
being permitted to go through a small side exit 
to the station platform and bade us make our way 
in that direction. This was easier said than done. 
It took us fully fifteen minutes to force a passage 
through the crowd, which, while it made no open 
objection, offered a passive resistance to our ef- 
forts that made it well-nigh impenetrable. 
Finally, by dint of energetic pushing and wrig- 
gling, we reached our goal, passed through, 
hastened up the platform, and secured seats in a 
sleeper, which our indefatigable runner had suc- 
ceeded in holding for us. Shortly before ten 
o'clock the train started, and we breathed more 
freely as we realized that at last we were leaving 
St. Petersburg. 



178 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

Our route took us across southern Finland via 
Viborg and Riihlmaki to Raumo. Just before 
coming to Viborg the train guards pulled down 
the window shades and warned us not to look out 
of the windows. Soldiers, they said, were sta- 
tioned all along the railway tracks, and they were 
ordered to fire at the slightest movement that 
could be regarded as an attempt on the part of a 
passenger to view the fortifications of the town. 
Remembering how implicitly the Russian soldiers 
obey orders, we were mighty careful not to ap- 
proach the windows. 

At every station of any importance we were 
threatened with the possibility of having to leave 
the sleeper and move into a crowded day coach. 
But ''the holy ruble," whose potency in Russia we 
had long since learned to appreciate, had a mar- 
velous effect on the guards and officials, and our 
willingness to hand out the silver on demand en- 
abled us to retain our places in comparative com- 
fort. 

At Riihimaki, which we reached about three 
o^clock next morning, there was a long stop of 
several hours. Here we were able to secure re- 
freshments at the railroad restaurant. After 
leaving this station, our train moved very slowly 
and at times we despaired of ever getting to our 
destination. 

At last toward evening we were approaching 



Flight from St. Petersburg 179 

Raumo. The moment we arrived at the station 
we dashed oyt to obtain passage across the Gulf. 
Two steamers were at the wharves ready to start 
next morning. On the smaller of these we suc- 
ceeded in securing tickets for Gefle, which, as we 
had learned from the Consul in St. Petersburg, 
was some distance north of Stockholm. There 
were no passenger cabins in this vessel, so we had 
to be satisfied with a deck passage. We were 
making ourselves as comfortable as possible on 
the deck when happening to see our former sleeper 
on a siding not far off, I went to the guard and 
asked permission to return to it for the night. 
Permission being granted, we slept there until four 
A. M. 

The steamer started from the dock promptly 
at five. There was a fresh northwest gale blow- 
ing and the little vessel was soon dancing on the 
waves in a lively fashion. With few exceptions 
the passengers became frightfully sea-sick, a cir- 
cumstance which in one way was fortunate, for 
they cared not one whit whether they survived or 
perished! Mines — however thickly sown — did 
not interest them in the least I That there were 
mines in these waters was abundantly substan- 
tiated next day by the report that four vessels 
were sunk in the vicinity on the very day we 
crossed. Thanks to a kind Providence, we 
escaped. 



i8o Russia in the Summer of IQ14 

At six o'clock in the evening we tied up at the 
dock in Gefle. Thoroughly wretched from our 
experiences on the steamer, we concluded not to 
go straight on to Stockholm and found very com- 
fortable quarters in the Grand Hotel. Indeed 
after the strain we had endured during the pajt 
fortnight, we would have been perfectly content 
in a peasant's hut, provided it was outside of 
Russia. 

In the afternoon of the following day we pro- 
ceeded to Stockholm. The first thing we did after 
finding rooms was to telegraph to our families in 
America of our safe arrival in Sweden. We re- 
mained several days in Stockholm, while we made 
arrangements for our further journey homeward. 
During that time I paid a flying visiFto Chris- 
tiania, and cashed the note I had received from 
M. Jequier without the slightest difficulty. 

The details of our subsequent trip by way of 
Bergen to England and thence to New York 
would be of little interest to the reader. We 
started on our eventful visit to Russia from Stock- 
holm, and our safe return to that city appropri- 
ately brings our narrative concerning it to a close. 



CHAPTER XX 

THE REVOLUTION — FUTURE OF RUSSIA 

THE checkered course of events in Russia 
after the outbreak of the war in 19 14 is 
familiar to us all. The initial successes of the 
Russians in Galicia and East Prussia followed by 
the Teuton victory at Tannenberg; a second vigor- 
ous advance by the Russian armies as far as the 
Carpathian passes with their subsequent expulsion 
from Austrian territory through von Mackensen's 
great "drive" ; the conquest of Serbia by the Teu- 
tons and Bulgarians; von Hindenburg's invasion 
of Russia, the fall of Warsaw, the approach to 
Dvinsk; the Rumanian debacle; then the complete 
collapse of the Russian arms; — ^^thus the tide of 
war ebbed and flowed during the campaigns of 
1914-1916. 

Suddenly, in the spring of 19 17, like a thief in 
the night, came the Russian Revolution! No sat- 
isfactory explanation of this strange event can be 
made without turning to the history of Russia 
and interpreting it in the light of the historical 
facts that have been set forth in the foregoing 
pages. They may be summarized as follows: 

181 



1 82 Russia in the Summer of 19 14 

The Slavs from the earliest times were inclined 
not to warfare but to agriculture. Three cen- 
turies of Tartar dominion checked their progress 
in civilization. Their spectacular advance under 
the rule of Peter the Great and Catherine II was 
superficial, contributing chiefly to territorial ex- 
pansion and municipal splendor. Alexander II 
emancipated forty-six millions of his subjects from 
serfdom, but toward the close of his reign Social- 
ism, Anarchism and Nihilism, a brood of vipers, 
raised their ugly heads. The Greek Church, to 
which men looked for aid against these malig- 
nant forces, could do no more than secure out- 
ward reverence from its adherents. Literature 
and art vied with each other in stirring bitter re- 
sentment against both Church and Government by 
depicting social wrongs and abuses. The rule of 
the Tsars following Alexander II was arbitrary 
to the last degree. For their subjects it meant 
the most savage repression. But no espionage 
system, no Cossack regiments availed to stamp out 
the secret societies of the Social Revolutionists. 
Their organization became complete, extending 
from the university students to the workmen's 
Artels. Thus it was that the soil was prepared 
for the final revolt against Tsardom. The seeds 
were sown; the harvest time was at hand. 

Russia was ripe for revolution in 1905. But 
the war with Japan kindled the fires of patriotism 



The Revolution — Future of Russia 183 

and the movement was checked. The Govern- 
ment, aware that danger still existed, now threw 
a sop to the people and granted them a representa- 
tive assembly. Yet the Tsar took good care to 
render the Duma ineffective by dissolving it when- 
ever it grew too persistent in its demands for re- 
form. Then came a brief period of quiet. It 
was merely the lull before the storm. 

Again in 19 14 Russia trembled on the verge of 
revolution. Again war intervened and Nicholas 
II and his minions thought to save their precious 
skins by pointing to the foreign peril. Once more 
the ruse succeeded, and all classes were aglow 
with patriotism. In Moscow I asked Grundy if 
the Russian soldiers would fight. "Fight I'* he 
said, "they will fight like devils I The only ques- 
tion is whether they will be well-officered." And 
they did fight I They beat the Austrians and 
drove their lines far forward into the Carpathian 
Mountains. Then the Germans came to the rescue 
of their allies. Von Mackensen sent the Russian 
army reeling back through Galicia. Warsaw fell. 
The campaign of 19 16 ended with the Germans 
in possession of considerable Russian territory. 

The sick, the wounded, and the dismissed now 
returned to tell the country the naked truth. They 
had been ill-fed, often ill-led. But worse than 
that, they had been betrayed! German propa- 
ganda had done its poisonous work. Ammunition 



184 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

failed at critical moments. Arms were scarce and 
men in the trenches had to wait until they could 
take the rifles from their fallen comrades ! 

These reports reached the people when they 
were in no mood for patience. Industry and 
trade were at a standstill. There were countless 
workmen unemployed. Taxes were enormous. 
Food prices were high. Discontent which had 
been gathering strength for two years deepened 
into resentment against the authorities. The col- 
leges, hotbeds of revolutionary sentiment, were 
closed by order of the Government. But the Revo- 
lutionists were quick to seize their opportunity 
and worked unceasingly in the cities, among the 
peasants, in the army itself. Before Christmas, 
19 1 6, the discouraged peasant soldiery were 
largely won over by pacifist arguments and were 
ready to return to their farms, whatever the con- 
sequences might be. In March the mines that 
had been laid underground with such secrecy were 
touched off. Within three days the Revolution 
was an accomplished fact I 

The Tsar abdicated and was hustled with his 
family into ignominious exile. The valiant 
bureaucracy fled or hid their heads in dismay. 
There was no middle class to exert its Influence 
for order. Kerensky and the Provisional Gov- 
ernment proved incapable of handling the situa- 
tion. Rioting and bloody fighting broke out in 



The Revolution — Future of Russia 185 

the streets of Petrograd and Moscow. It was re- 
ported that gangs of soldiers and workmen looted 
the palaces. Did the priceless treasures of art 
and history they contained escape destruction at 
the hands of these maddened men who had been 
taught to regard them as symbols of the autocrat 
and the hated bourgeois? Only time can tell. 
Soon all semblance of government disappeared. 
Famine and pestilence stalked through the land. 
Last of all came the Bolsheviki and the Reign of 
Terror I 

The world-war is at an end. But what of the 
future of distracted Russia? Rash indeed would 
be the man who would venture to assume the role 
of prophet in view of the conditions existing in 
that land. An unwieldy empire, composed of 
heterogeneous peoples divided by race and re- 
ligion, that for centuries has been held together 
by sheer force; cities teeming with multitudes 
saturated with the impossible doctrines of radical 
Socialists, **blind leaders of the blind"; a half- 
civilized peasantry, ignorant and apathetic. 
Truly the outlook is discouraging I Through the 
splendid persistence of the Allies, whom they for- 
sook, the Russians have been saved from the Ger- 
man peril, but who will save them from them- 
selves? If they are left to their own devices, 
what is there to prevent their falling into a state 



1 86 Russia in the Summer of igi4 

of chaos and anarchy that will lead inevitably to 
disintegration? 

There can be but one solution to this problem. 
If Russia is to remain intact, it must be through a 
military dictator. Under the strongly centralized 
government of a single man supported by an 
army, the people will turn again to their peaceful 
pursuits. A system of public education will be 
established. With the passing of the present gen- 
eration a new era will dawn on the great Empire 
of the North. The Spirit of Progress which once 
fluttered above the nation for a brief space will 
return to brood over it. The military dictator- 
ship, having served its purpose, will be discarded. 
Thus — and thus only — can come the consumma- 
tion of the hopes and prayers of the civilized 
world. Then at last Russia, purged of Bolshe- 
vism and fitted for self-government, will take her 
place among the European powers as a perma- 
nent democracy. 



INDEX 



Afrosinia, 43-45 
Aivasovski's marine paint- 
ings, 90 
Alexander I 

pledge to Finland, 13-14 

column of, 67 

reign of, 91 
Alexander II 

keeps faith with Finland, 14 

apartments in Winter Pal- 
ace, 70 

reform measures, 92 

opposition of Radicals, 93 

assassination, 94-95 

Church of the Resurrection 

95 
statues of, 14, 129 
literature and art awakened 

by, 135 
ultimate results of reign, 
182 
Alexander Nevski Monastery, 

106-107 
Alexis I 

family, 27-28 
character, 51 

apartments in Kremlin Pal- 
ace, 124 
Alexis, son of Peter the Great, 

43-46 
Alphabet, Russian, 141-142 
Architecture 
Finnish, 16 

pseudo-classical in St. Pe- 
tersburg, 66j no 
Church of the Resurrection. 

95 
St Isaac's Cathedral, 97-98 



St. Kasan Cathedral, 103 
Cathedral of St. Basil, 131- 

132 
Church of the Redeemer, 

139-140 
Army officers, 111-112 
Art 

sculpture in Hermitage, 85- 

86 
paintings in Hermitage, 86- 

88 
Museum of Alexander III, 

89-90 
Tretyakov Gallery, 90, 135- 

137 

Aivasovski, 90 

Canova, 86 

Falconet, 54-55, 86 

Peroff, 136 

Repin, 136-137 

Verestchagin, 136 

"Wanderers," 136 

national art, 89-90, 135-137 
Astoria Hotel 

location, 19 

return to, 160- 161 

danger from mob, 164-165 
Augustus, king of Poland and 

Charles XII, 39 
Austria and Serbia, 23-24 
Azov, expedition against, 35 

Baptism 

in Greek Church, 103 
description of, 105-106 
Bazaars of Moscow, 143 
Bell Tower of Ivan Veliki, 
127-129 



187 



i88 



Index 



Bells, Russian, 126-127 
Bobrikov, dictator in Helsing- 

fors, 14 
Bourgeois class, absence of, in 

Moscow, 145 
Boyar Romanov House, 133- 

134 

Canova's statuary, 86 
Cathedrals 

St. Isaac's, 19, 67, 97-103, 

139-140 
St. Kasan, 103-106 
Assumption, 122 
Archangel, 122-123 
Annunciation, 123 
St. Basil, 131-132 
Redeemer, 139-140 
Catherine I 
becomes Peter the Great's 

mistress, 40 
wise counsel at Pruth River 

disaster, 41-42 
crowned Tsarina, 50 
Catherine the Great 
betrothal and marriage tc 

Peter III, 72-74 
appearance, 75, 77 
proclaimed empress, 76 
death of Peter III, 77 
foils plot to enthrone Ivan 

VI, 77-78 
crushes rebellion of Pongat- 

chef, 78 
beneficent measures, 78-79 
partition of Poland, 79 
defeats Turks, 79-80 
announces principle of 

armed neutrality, 80 
patron of French literature. 

80-8 1 
admirer of Voltaire, 80, 82 
character and achievements, 

81-84 
makes the Hermitage fa- 
mous, 72, 85 
ultimate results of reign, 

182 



Cemetery in Alexander Nev- 
ski Monastery, 107 

Charles Xll of Sweden 
captures Copenhagen, 39 
victorious at Narva, 39 
defeated at Poltava, 41 
flight from Turkey to Swe- 
den, 46 
death at Fredrikshall, 46 

Charlotte of Wolfenbiittel, 43- 

44 
Church procession, 143-144 
Churches 
Resurrection, 95 
Our Saviour in the Word, 

124-125 
in Moscow, 128 
Communion, Holy, in Greek 

Church, 103 
Cossacks 

appearance, 59 
shoot down strikers, 63 
on Red Sunday, 71 
Cottage of Peter the Great 

55-57 
Credit Lyonnais, 168, 173-175 
Crimea ceded to Russia, 79 
Crimean war, 92 
Crosses, Russian, 128-129 

Diderot, entertained by Cath- 
erine the Great, 80 
Droschky, the, 117-118 
Duma and Nicholas II, 183 

Empress Elizabeth 
in Peterhof, 60, 62 
accession to throne, 77 
chooses Catherine to be the 

wife of Peter III, 72-73 
takes charge of Paul, 74 
death, 75 
Espionage system, 14, 169-170 

182 
Eudoxia 
wedded to Peter the Great, %z 
forced into a nunnery, 37. 
138 



Index 



189 



Falconet 
monument of Peter the 

Great, 54, 55 
statuary in the Hermitage, 

86 
False Pretenders, period of, 

27, 149 
Feodor I, last of Rurik line, 

27 
Feodorowitch, Michael, first 

RomanoflF Tsar, 27 
Feodor, son of Alexis I, 27-2S 
Finland, 12-17 
Fortress of St. Peter and St. 

Paul, description of, 65-66 
Foundling Asylum in Mos- 
cow, 78-79, 134 
Frederick, king of Denmark, 

defeated by Charles XII, 

39 

Gefle, 179-180 

German Embassy sacked, 163- 

i6s 
Germans in St. Petersburg, 

166 
Gliick, Pastor, 40 
Golden Horde defeated, 27 
Greek Church 

established in Russia, 26 

baptism, 103, 105-106 

communion, 103 

music, loo-ioi, 106-107 

services, 97-107 

secures only outward rev- 
erance, 182 
Guide 

needed in Russia, 20-21 

in St. Petersburg, 21 

in Moscow, 119 

Helsingfors, description of, 12- 

Hermitage 
made famous by Catherine 

the Great, 72, 85 
sculpture and Kertch col- 
lection, 85-86 



Hermitage 

picture gallery, 86-88 

Iberian Gate, 120, 147 
Iconostasis, loi 
Icons 

description of, 99-100 
found everywhere, 116-117 
Illiteracy in Russia, 142-143 
Impressions of 

St. Petersburg, 108-118 
Moscow, 141-147 
Interregnum, period of, 27, 

149 
Ivan the Great, defeated tht 

Tartars, 27 
Ivan the Terrible 

extended the Russian em- 
pire, 27 
treatment of envoy, 123 
treatment of architect of St 

Basil, 132 
Repin's picture of, 136 
Ivan, brother of Peter the 
Great 
boyhood, 28 
death, 35 
Ivan VI, plot to enthrone, 77- 
78 

Japan's war with Russia 
aided Finns, 15 
Red Sunday, 71 
kindled Russian patriotism, 
182-183 
Jequier, the banker, 173-175, 
180 

Kerensky's failure, 184 
Kertch Collection, 85-86 
Kremlin, see Moscow 
Kronstadt, description of, 18 
Kvass, ingredients of, 22 

Lefort 
comrade of Peter the Great, 

34 
death, 40 



190 



Index 



Menshikof, General, takes Le- 

fort's place, 40 
Metropole Hotel in Moscow 
location, 119 

kindness of manager, 160 
Minin, 132, 138 
Monastery 
Alexander Nevski, 106- 

107 
Troitzkaya, 33, 148-150 
Montesquieu, model for Cath- 
erine the Great's law re- 
former, 80 
Moscow 

Iberian Gate, 120, 147 
Red Square, 120, 131-133 
Kremlin 
Nicholas Gate, 120-121 
walls, 121 
cannon, 121-122 
Cathedral of the Assump- 
tion, 122 
Archangel Cathedral, 122, 

123 
Cathedral of the Annun- 
ciation, 123 
Palace, 123-124 
Red Staircase, 29, 123 
Our Saviour in the Word, 

124-125 
Treasury, 125 
Synodal Treasury, 125- 

126 
Tsar Bell, 126-127 
Tower of Ivan Veliki, 

127-129 
churches and crosses, 128- 

129 
Redeemer Gate, 129-130 
Cathedral of St. Basil, 131- 

132 
Minin and Pozharski, 132- 

133 
House of Boyar Romanov 

133-134 
Foundling Asylum, 78-79 

134 
Tretyakov Gallery, 135-137 



Rumyantzov Museum, 137- 

138 
Novo Dyevitchi Convent, 

138 
Sparrow Hills, 138-139 
Church of the Redeemer, 

139-140 
Petrovski Park and Palace, 

140 
impressions of, 141-147 
streets and walls, 141 
shop signs, 141-143 
Russian alphabet, 141-142 
illiteracy, 142-143 
bazaars, 143 

church procession, 143-144 
poverty and vodka drinking, 

144-145 
no bourgeois class, 145 
visit to the Hermitage, 145- 

147 
Music of Greek Church, 100- 

loi, 107 
Museum 

of Alexander III, 89-90 
of Imperial carriages, 95 
Rumyantzov, 137-138 

Napoleon 

enemy and afterwards ally 

of Paul I, 91 
ally and afterwards enemy 

of Alexander I, 91 
arrival at Moscow, 138-139 
retreat from Moscow, 91, 

139 
retreat commemorated by 
St. Kasan Cathedral, 104 
by Church of the Redeem- 
er, 139-140 
Narva, battle of, 39 
Naryshkyn party 

overthrow by Sophia, 29 
return to power, 32-33 
Natalia 

(1) wife of Alexis I 
appearance and descent, 
28 



Index 



191 



Natalia 

struggle with the Streltsi, 

28-29 
independence, 124 
death, 34 

apartments in Terem, 124 
(2) daughter of Alexis I, 28 
Nicholas I 

reign of, 91-92 
statue of, 161 
Nicholas II 
Russification of Finland, 14-15 
meeting with Poincare, 18 
treatment of his subjects^ 

71, 182-183 
treatment of Duma, 183 
reverence for, 102, 162 
flight of, 184 
Nicholas Gate, 120-121 
Norsemen and Slavs, 26 
Novo Dyevitchi Convent, 138 

Ofiicials, Russian, 111-115 
Orlov diamond, 70 
Orlov, Gregory, 76 
Orlov, Alexis, 77 

Palace 

Peterhof, 59-60 

Winter, 67-70 

Kremlin, 123-124 
Palace Square, 67, 162 
Passports, 20 
Paul I 

protege of Empress Eliza- 
beth, 74 

harshly treated by his moth- 
er, 81 

reign, 91 
Peasant, the Russian 

attitude toward women, 124 

appearance, houses, 151-154 

problem of, 155-156 
Peroff, 136 
Peter the Great 

birth, 28 

proclaimed Tsar, 28 

joint Tsar with Ivan, 29 



Peter the Great 

boyhood pursuits, 30-31 
appearance, 31-32 
first marriage, 32 
flight to Troitzkaya Monas- 
tery, 33, 149 
immures Sophia in convent^ 

33 
youthful years, 34 
expeditions against Azov, 35 
journey through Europe, 35- 

punishes the Streltsi, 36 
forces Eudoxia into nun- 
nery, 37 
outward reforms, 37-38 
buflFoonery, 38 
war with Charles XII, 39 
meeting with Catherine, 40 
builds St. Petersburg, 41-54 
defeats Charles XII, 41 
saved from Turks by Cath- 
erine, 41-42 
conquers Finland, 43 
treatment of Alexis, 43-46 
invades Persia, 46-47 
great reforms, 47-49 
crowns CatherineTsarina, 50 
sickness and death, 50 
character and achievements, 

51-53 
Falconet's monument of, 54- 

55 
cottage of Peter the Grea^ 

55-57 

last resting place, 65-66 
fosters art, 89 
ultimate results of reign, 182 
Peter III 

betrothal and marriage, 72- 

74 
appearance and character, 

74 
crowned Tsar, 75 
reform measures, 75 
treatment of Catherine, 76 
plot to dethrone, 77 
death, 77 



192 



Index 



Peterhof 

Great Palace, 59-60 

fountains, 60-61 

Hermitage, 61-62 
Petrovski Park and Palace, 

140 
Poincare, meeting with Tsar, 

18 
Poland 

supports False Pretenders, 

27, .149 
partition of, 79 
defeated by Minin and Poz- 
harski, 132-133, 138 
Poltava, battle of, 41 
Pougatchef's rebellion, 78 
Poverty in Moscow, 144 
Pozharski, 132-133, 138 
Pretenders, False, period of, 

27, 149 
Pruth River disaster, 42 

Raumo, 178-179 

Red Square, 120, 131-133 

Red Staircase, 29, 123 

Redeemer Cathedral, 139- 
140 

Redeemer Gate, 129-130 

Religiousness of Russians, 99, 
116-117 

Repin, 136-137 

Revolution of 1917 
sudden outbreak, 181 
events leading to, 182-184 

Riots 

in Moscow, 157-159 

in St. Petersburg, 162-166 

Romanoff dynasty, 27 

Riihimaki, 178 

Rumyantzov Museum, 137-138 

Runeberg's statue of Alexan- 
der II, 14, 16 

Rurik dynasty, 26-27 

Russia 

the early Slavs, 25 
derivation of name, 26 
conquered and ruled by 
Xartars, 26-27 



Russia 

future of, 185-186 
Russification of provinces, 15 

St. Isaac of Dalmatia, 98 
St. Isaac's Cathedral 

view of, 19, 67 

exterior of, 97-98 

interior of, 98-103 

service in, 98-103 
St. Kasan Cathedral, 103-106 
St. Petersburg 

protected by Kronstadt, 18 

approach through Sea 
Canal, 19 

1914 strike, 23, 63, 71 

building of, 41, 54 

Falconet's monument o f 
Peter the Great, 54-55 

Cottage of Peter the Great, 

55-57 
Fortress of St. Peter and St. 

Paul, 65-66 
Winter Palace, 67-70 
Palace Square, Cj, 162 
impressions of, 108-118 
extent, population, streets, 

108-111 
architecture, coloring, 66^ 

110 
men in uniform, 1 10-1 11 
army officers, 1 11-112 
officials, 112-115 
a cosmopolitan city, 115-116 
conveyances, 117-118 
efforts to escape from, 166- 

.175 
flight from, 176-180 
St. Serguis and the Trotzkaya 

Monastery, 148-149 
Schlusselburg, prison of 
Eudoxia, 37 
Ivan VI, 78 
Sea Canal, 19 
Serbia and Austria, 23-24 
Shop signs, 141-143 
Siberia, occupied by Russians, 
27 



Index 



193 



Slavs 

early settlement, 25 

pursuits, 182 
Socialism under Alexander II, 

93, 182 
Sophia 

schemes to become Regent, 
28-29 

loses Regency, 32-33 

implicated in plot, 36, 138 
Sparrow Hills, 138-139 
Stockholm, 9, 180 
Streets of 

Moscow, 141 

St. Petersburg, 108 
Streltsi 

support Sophia, 28-29 

forsake Sophia, 33 

punished by Peter the Great, 
36, 131, 138 
Strike in St. Petersburg, 23, 

63, 71 
Sveaborg, defence of, 12 
Swedish railroad restaurants, 

II 
Synodal Treasury, 125-126 

Tartars 

conquer Russia, 26-27 
defeated by Ivan the Great, 
27 



Tartars 

effects of their dominion, 
182 
Tower of Ivan Veliki, 127- 

129 
Tretyakov Gallery, 135-137 
Troitzkaya Monastery, 33, 

148-150 
Tsar Bell, 126-127 
Turks 
lose Azov, 35 
at Pruth River, 42 
lose Crimea, 79 
defeated by Catherine the 

Great, 80 
in Crimean War, 92 

Verestschagin, 136 
Viborg, 178 

Village, Russian, 152-154 
Vodka drinking, 144-145 
Voltaire's influence on Cath- 
erine the Great, 80, 82 

"Wanderers," the, 136 
Winter Palace, 67-70 
World War 

summary of events, 19x4- 

1916, 181 
aroused Russian patriotism, 
7i» 183 



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